


I'm Not Lycan to You

by BadTemptress



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Are they in a relationship?, Cunnilingus, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Face-Sitting, Fluff and Humor, Friends With Benefits, Grocery Shopping, Lycans, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Misconceptions, Secrets, Sharing Body Heat, Sharing a Bed, Smut, They are both in denial about being in a relationship, Werewolves, silver - Freeform, we may never know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:02:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26150818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadTemptress/pseuds/BadTemptress
Summary: Loba likes to talk, and not to explain. Something that Bangalore finds annoyingly attractive about the woman.(But seriously, what the hell is a Lycan?)Alternative title: Bangalore and Loba slowly assimilate into a relationship, but they both don't want to admit they're any more than friends.
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Bangalore | Anita Williams
Comments: 27
Kudos: 145





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [5 Things Bangalore Learned About Werewolves + 1 Thing She Learned About Her Girlfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25801777) by [LuckyPossums](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyPossums/pseuds/LuckyPossums). 



> Inspired by LuckyLabrys story "5 Things Bangalore Learned About Werewolves + 1 Thing She Learned About Her Girlfriend", Go check it out!!!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/25801777?view_full_work=true

**I’m Not Lycan to You**

“You’re a what?”

Loba didn’t look up from her nails, too busy filing the middle one into a smooth gloss, “a Lycan.”

Bangalore frowned, setting her coffee on the table. She wondered if Loba was still trying to shake off the last bit of sleep clinging to her, because she tended to say some weird things in the morning. Except it wasn’t the morning; it was mid-afternoon and Bangalore had come by to share a cup of coffee with Loba, something that has become a bit of a ritual between them since they’ve started hanging out more and more.

“Good… For you?” Bangalore wasn’t sure what Loba wanted her to say in response to the weird claim.

Sighing, Loba dropped the nail file and sat back in her far-too-cushioned chair, “you don’t believe me, do you?”

“I’m not sure what there is to believe. I don’t know what a ‘Lycan’ is.”

“Huh,” Loba leaned forward onto her palms, staring at Bangalore with intense yellow eyes, “anyway, I need to go to the grocery store-”

“You aren’t going to explain?” Bangalore interrupted her.

“What’s there to explain? I’m a Lycan, plain and simple. You can do your own research, you’re a smart girl.” Loba waved her off, “We’ll head out around ten minutes from now.”

Bangalore narrowed her eyes at her as she dropped her cup into the automatic dish cycler. It chimed out a high tone and whirled off into the massive expanse of the dining room they were in, heading for the equally-massive kitchen.

“Who said I was going with you?”

Loba raised a brow at her and Bangalore’s heart fluttered a little. Damn, it was hot when she did that, “Well, you are going to make me your Nana’s red velvet sometime, aren’t you Annie?”

“I would have— don’t call me Annie— I would have liked a heads up, not just a ‘you’re coming with me.’” Bangalore took a seat on one of the silk-lined dining chairs, nearly sighing as the gel cushions molded to her legs. Though she found Loba’s taste absurdly expensive, at least she bought stuff that was comfy. Her ass hurt after sitting on her own dining chairs for more than ten minutes.

“Besides, when have you done your own grocery shopping?”

“Since I fired my last grocer.” Loba said, picking up her nail file again. “He was too nosy.”

“How can someone be nosy over groceries?”

“He found the tastes of a Lycan interesting, I suppose.”

Bangalore crinkled her nose, “there’s that word again.”

Loba stopped filing her nails, waving the file around as she spoke, “It takes you ten seconds to look it up, I’ll even let you use my holo-computer.” She filed her index twice, then raised her hand up to the light to look at it. She let out a satisfied grunt (or was that a growl?) and tossed the file back into her kit, sitting up from the chair.

“How thoughtful of you,” Bangalore said with a roll of her eyes.

“I try. I’ll be out in a minute, we’re taking my transport.”

—

Surprisingly, shopping with Loba wasn’t as insufferable as she thought. She knew what she wanted and didn’t take forever browsing different brands; hell, she tossed whatever she needed into the cart with no regards to price or anything. Bangalore struggled to keep up with her, Loba’s heels clicking rapidly as she made a bee-line for the butchery section. Her yellow eyes scanned the rows of meat, and she set the cart aside as she bent down with a hand on her chin.

“Annie, you like poultry?” Loba asked over her shoulder.

Huffing as she caught up, Bangalore took her place by Loba’s side, “Don’t call me Annie. By poultry you mean chicken or-?”

Loba lifted a full hen into view, turning it this way and that as she examined it. Bangalore’s eyes nearly bulged at the sight of the price tag.

“For dinner tonight.” Loba said, “poultry or beef?”

“For you?”

Loba looked over her shoulder, staring at Bangalore strangely, “For us, sergeant. It’s the only reason why I’m buying this pre-killed.”

“Who says I’m eating dinner with you?”

Bangalore waited for a response, but she never got one as Loba turned back to the butchery and started to sift through more of the meats. Letting out a sigh, Bangalore crossed her arms and looked around the grocery store. It was one of those fancier ones, with conveyor belts that brought you a product if you input a request into it and carts that allowed you to pay with a reader on the side, but Loba seemed fine going through all the aisles. Usually Bangalore only shopped once for the week, and that was to get bare essentials. She wasn’t used to being in a store this long and it was making her feel restless knowing that she could be doing better things with her time.

Heels clicked against ceramic flooring as Loba went further down the butchery. Bangalore mindlessly followed her, eyes not leaving her backside. For once, Loba wasn’t completely overdressed; she had only donned a pair of jeans and an over-sized sweatshirt. Her hair wasn’t even up in its signature braids, instead cascading down her shoulders and back in loose, voluminous curls. The sight of it made Bangalore want to run her fingers through her hair, but she forced the intrusive thought away. They were just friends and she was damn sure to keep it that way.

“How do you eat your chicken?” Bangalore asked, watching as Loba picked up yet another full hen.

Humming in the back of her throat, Loba answered, “raw and still feathered. I’m assuming you want yours different?”

“Okay, what the hell are you talking about?” Bangalore asked. Loba turned around to face her, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at her as if Bangalore were the fool.

“Didn’t you look up Lycans? I gave you a good five minutes to do it.”

“Lo, I don’t even know how to use that computer of yours. I’m used to physical keyboards.”

“Aw, love the pet name, Annie. Call me that more.” Loba smiled, turning back to the butchery. She finally selected a chicken, gave it a quick once over, and dropped it in the cart with a self-satisfied nod, the reader going up a few digits as it recalculated the cost. She grabbed the cart and Bangalore found herself rushing after her once more as she sped off.

Bangalore decided to ignore Loba’s comment, “It would be easier if you told me. I don’t play the guessing game.”

“I did tell you: I’m a Lycan. I don’t need to explain it.”

“Actually, you do.”

“Annie, baby,” Loba turned around suddenly, swaying over to her. She lifted her hands to her cheeks and Bangalore found herself fighting a blush, “I don’t.” She said the last part low, leaning in close to the side of Bangalore’s face so she could whisper it in her ear. She swallowed hard, clenching her fingers into her palms as her heart thumped in her chest. Loba backed away from her, offering her a knowing smile as she turned back to her cart.

“O-okay,” Bangalore said after finding her voice.

—

Over the next few months Bangalore found herself at Loba’s apartment far more than she found herself at hers, save for when she needed to sleep. It seemed almost natural at this point: wake up, go to Loba’s for breakfast, head to the gym, go to Loba’s to shower, eat lunch with Loba, head over to the Apex Facility to train, Have dinner with Loba, head home to go to bed. It was a routine that Bangalore couldn’t bring herself to break; she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to. It was clear that Loba was used to it to, because without a word she handed Bangalore her spare key the other day, and in every conversation she always seemed to find it fit to mention that her king size bed has more than enough room for the both of them.

“We aren’t close like that, Lo.” Bangalore said at what was probably Loba’s hundredth mention of it this week. Loba shrugged her shoulders, cutting into her slice of red velvet cake. Though Bangalore’s shirt hugged her comfortably around the chest, the sleeves dangled off of her arms.

“I like to keep my mate close, nothing romantic about it, Annie.”

Bangalore paused mid sip of her coffee, “mate? You’ve been hanging out with Rami lately?”

“Nope,” Loba said, popping the ‘p’. Bangalore waited for an explanation, but Loba resumed eating, taking delicate bites that chipped away at the giant slice of cake little by little. 

“Gonna… give me an explanation for that one?” She tried to prompt her.

Loba shrugged her shoulders, and Bangalore could have sworn there was a dusting of dark brown across her cheeks. “I don’t need to explain.”

“Just like you don’t need to explain the Lycan thing?”

Rather than answer she shrugged again, finishing off the last of her cake and setting the plate into the dish cycler. Loba leaned back in her chair.

“Don’t need to. Want to watch a movie and cuddle?” 

“I don’t cuddle.” Bangalore scoffed, “What movie?”

“I was thinking of an old classic— “American Werewolf in London”. Ever seen it?”

Bangalore shook her head and Loba beckoned her to follow. They headed out of the dining room and into the living room, slipping away into the private theatre that, according to Loba, was standard for these apartments. It was fit with several seats, but Loba had dismantled all of them and left only two in the center. The screen in front of them was a holo against a blank template and Bangalore had to rub her eyes as she sat down. Loba always set the color saturation far too high.

As Loba turned the movie on, Bangalore found herself frowning at the opening intro, “this a horror movie?”

“Horror comedy… mostly comedy. Why, afraid of horror movies? I’ll hold your hand, Annie.”

“Not needed.”

They had managed to get an hour into the movie before Loba’s incessant need to commentate on what people were doing started to take over. Though Bangalore found it amusing sometimes, today was not that day, and she was actually enjoying the movie enough to want to focus on it. Her annoyance flared with every small remark that she made, and damn were they frequent.

“He is so over-dramatic.” Loba scoffed, watching the main protagonist thrash around in agony. Bangalore glanced at her for a second. She was sitting back with her arms crossed, regarding her nails. 

“I don’t think painfully turning into some monster constitutes as ‘over-dramatic’, girl.” Bangalore said.

Loba rolled her eyes, “It’s only painful if you let it be.”

“And you’re one to know that?”

“Definitely,” Loba kicked back, reclining her feet and resting her hands on her stomach. “You fight it, it hurts and lasts forever. Just let it happen and you get along fine.” 

For a moment Bangalore considered asking her to elaborate on how exactly she knew that, but she decided against it at the last moment. Knowing Loba, she wasn’t going to get a response out of her. Settling back in her own seat, Bangalore set her hand down on the arm of her chair and continued to watch the movie; the change was complete and he looked like a demented dog. She hardly reacted when Loba settled her hand over hers.

“Also not accurate. He’d be able to stand on his hind legs too.” She said.

Bangalore pretended to understand, “totally.”

—

There were some days where Bangalore came over that Loba was completely exhausted, barely to hold her head up over her breakfast and keep her eyes open. For months Bangalore never questioned it because it was rare she saw it, but now that she’s with her more and more, it’s hard not to notice how frequently it happened.

“You’re drooling into your cup, Lo.”

Loba grunted, lifted her head up and regarding Bangalore with narrowed, tired eyes, “I am not,” She raised her cup to her lips and missed, pouring tea down the front of her sweater. Bangalore tried not to laugh at the display, but she couldn’t help a smile as she stood from the dining chair and circled around the square table to her side.

“Alright, we’re getting you back to bed.” Bangalore said. It was early anyway, and she was sure Loba wasn’t used to being up at 7am like she was.

“No, absolutely not,” Loba murmured, snuggling up into Bangalore’s chest as she lifted her from the chair, “I am-” She paused to let out a large yawn. Bangalore’s eyes bulged at the sight of the large and sharp canines in her mouth.

“Woah,”

An eyelid cracked open to reveal a yellow eye that almost seemed to glow. It stared at her, bored. 

“What?”

Even with her mouth closed, the ends of her teeth poked into her bottom lip. Bangalore swallowed, shifting Loba so she could hold her comfortably, one hand under her knees and the other supporting her shoulders. She started towards the grand hallway that led to the balcony and bedroom.

“Just wondering when you got the dental work done.” Bangalore said. Loba raised an eyebrow (God, was it normal to want to kiss your friend when they did that?) and used her index finger to lift her lip, running the pad along her canine. Her face twisted in annoyance.

“Ugh, no. They haven’t receded yet; give it an hour.”

“Receded?”

“It’s a Lycan thing. Usually they’re smaller.” Loba said softly, closing her eyes again.

Bangalore lightly pushed the door open with her foot, taking Loba into a bedroom the size of her apartment. The king-sized bed lied in the center, pushed up against a wall with a mural of starry night sky painted on it. Bangalore’s feet sunk into the thick carpet as she walked over to the large bed. She set Loba on the silk comforter, watching as she crawled upwards. Rather than get under sheets, Loba seemed comfortable with laying down sideways on top of the pillows.

“Is being sleepy like this a Lycan thing?”

Loba nodded slowly, “I-yawn- overdid it last night.” She wrapped her arms around a pillow and brought it close to her face, rubbing her cheek onto it with a noise that almost sounded like a purr.

Bangalore took a seat on the bed, sinking a full two inches into the mattress. It wasn’t the first time she was in Loba’s bedroom, but it was the first time she ever sat on her bed. Clearly Loba didn’t mind it, as she didn’t react to the sudden weight beside her, but something about being next to her felt different. Hell, something about Loba felt different since she arrived to her apartment thirty minutes ago. Her hair shrouded all of her face, except for the half pressed into the pillow, and her nails— which much have been freshly filed considering they were slicing into the pillowcase— matched the color of the canines poking into her bottom lip; white.

“Wine tasting night again?” Bangalore asked with a laugh.

“No, I let my instincts run me around too much. Did you change conditioners?” Yellow eyes stared at Bangalore curiously.

She had to resist the urge to touch her hair, “uh, yeah actually. How did you-?”

“The enhanced senses haven’t worn off. I think I can smell colors.”

“This another-?”

“Me being a Lycan? Yeah, ever looked it up?”

Bangalore shook her head, prompting a sigh from Loba.

“Get around to that sometime.”

Little by little Loba rotated on the bed, crawling towards Bangalore until she could wrap her arms around her waist and rest her head into her lap. Bangalore swallowed, feeling her face started to burn. She couldn’t resist running her fingers into the loose curls, blush growing at the sound of Loba’s pleased growl.

“I will.”

—

Back in the IMC, Bangalore rarely had time to take a shower, much less take the time to shave. It was something she only did during special occasions, such as formal events or going back home to visit. Even then, she learned to be quick about it— ten minutes and she was as smooth as the day she was born. With Loba, however, it was an all-day affair. It was to the point where if Bangalore heard Loba in the bathroom with music playing (because, according to her, music is necessary when shaving), she would go off and spend the day at her house instead, because otherwise she would sit in the apartment, bored for hours on end. Now it was a little different, because Loba didn’t care whether Bangalore was in the bathroom with her or not and told her more than once to ‘just walk in’.

Still, Bangalore had her eyes covered as she stumbled about the room.

“You can look, you know?” The sloshing of water accompanied Loba’s words, which told Bangalore that she really shouldn’t look. She grunted as she banged her knee into something hard, feeling the space out in front of her with her free hand.

“Where do you keep the aspirin?” Bangalore asked. She peeked through a slit between her fingers. She was facing a sink counter, with a mirror reflecting back her own-haggard appearance. Never really a looker first thing in the morning, huh Anita?

Loba let out a low hum, water sloshing about as she moved, “It’s near the makeup.”

Bangalore dropped her hands from her eyes, looking around the large bathroom. In the corner there was a full body mirror, the shelf beside it covered in an assortment of brushes, lipsticks, and concealers. Right beside that was a large marbled counter with a mirror stretching along the wall.

“Lots of mirrors, huh?” Bangalore asked.

“A girl needs to see all her angles.”

Bangalore sifted through the drawers in the counter, brushing aside bottles of nail polish and different files. The aspirin was beside a vitamin case, and she wasted no time downing two of them. On top of the counter was a speaker, playing music in a language she didn’t understand, and beside that was a jar with two toothbrushes in them, one unopened.

“You angry when you brush your teeth?” Bangalore laughed. The bristles of Loba’s toothbrush were all unkempt and smashed against the plastic.

“Sometimes.” Loba said simply. Her voice was accompanied by the sound of a razor scraping against hair.

Bangalore nodded, finally finding the courage to turn around and look at the woman. “The second one s’pposed to replace the first?”

Loba scoffed, “no, it’s for you.” Her leg rested on the rim of the tub as she ran the razor over it. Bubbles and steam covered everything, save for her shoulders and collarbone, but still Bangalore found herself fixated on the bare skin revealed to her.

“That so?”

“Yes.”

“I think you got all the hair, Lo.” Bangalore said, walking towards the tub and taking a seat on the counter beside it. Loba snorted in response, putting her leg back down.

“Trust me, I didn’t.”

Bangalore crossed her arms and smirked, “Hairy one, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, tell me about it.”

“I wasn’t being serious.”

“You weren’t? Well, it’s true. One of the cons of being a Lycan.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Bangalore said absent-mindedly, all her focus on Loba’s bare thighs poking through the soapy water.

Loba shot her a look, sinking downward into the tub to wet her hair, “You still haven’t looked it up?”

“I’ve been enjoying piecing it together myself. Keeps my mind sharp.”

“Oh, really?” Loba gave her a knowing smile, “and what’s your theory so far?”

Bangalore rolled her eyes, “you would laugh at me if it wasn’t right; that ruins the surprise.”

Brown shoulders shrugged and Loba went back to shaving. Bangalore sat there, enjoying the sound of the music and Loba’s occasional humming along with the scrape of the razor. The bathroom was obscenely hot and humid, and she found herself shrugging off her jacket, dropping it onto the mosaic floor along with the other discarded clothes.

“Join me, Annie,” Loba said, patting the water, “more than enough room.”

“Pass. Not very friendly of me.” Bangalore said.

A smile pulled across her face as Loba rolled her eyes “Right, friends.”

—

“Seriously, do you have to lay down on top of me?” Though she tried to fight it off, Bangalore couldn’t help but let out a cough at the end of her sentence. Loba didn’t so much as shift, her fingers holding on to her shirt tighter as she continued to press her body weight down on her. Truthfully, Bangalore didn’t mind it much--she was freezing and Loba was nice and warm- but the risk of getting her sick was high when she insisted on being this close to her. Any attempt to push her away was futile.

“I’m keeping you warm,” Loba said, pressing her palm up to Bangalore’s sweaty forehead. A pursing of her lips told her that her temperature was still high.

“The blankets do that just fine.” 

Loba was ever-so-insistent on covering her with every blanket she had in the apartment, and that was a lot of them. She was practically swallowed by the bed, barely able to see past the mountain of comforters and Loba herself. Bangalore tried to shift upwards, only to be halted by Loba growling and pushing her back down, shifting so she was fully on top of her. Her annoyance flared and Bangalore weakly pushed at her.

“Seriously, get off me.”

“I’m keeping you warm,” Loba repeated, yellow eyes flashing with concern. Her hand checked her forehead again and she looked unreasonably worried.

“My fever won’t change within a minute, Lo.” Bangalore said, noting how she bit at her lip and pulled the covers around them tighter. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a sick person before.”

Loba said nothing, wrapping her arms and legs around Bangalore and holding her tightly. Bangalore breathed out heavily and shut her eyes, allowing her head to fall back onto the pillow. She wasn’t going to let go anytime soon, and the urge to pee was growing stronger and stronger with each passing second. Letting out a sigh that turned into a cough, Bangalore started to sit up, much to Loba’s alarm.

“What are you doing?!”

“Going to the bathroom.” Bangalore gently pushed her off and swung her legs onto the carpet. Even adding a little pressure towards her feet made her legs feel funny and light. Getting up required using the cherry-wood nightstand to prop herself up. Behind her she could hear Loba crawl along the bed and one of her hands brushed against her wrist. Bangalore pulled away and headed for the en-suite, each of her steps feeling heavy and dragging.

“Be out in a moment.”

Truthfully, Bangalore shouldn’t have been surprised when she opened the door five minutes later to find Loba standing there, staring at her with worry. Her arms were crossed, but they immediately out-stretched towards Bangalore to hook around her waist and pull her back.

“Back to bed, now.”

“Were you waiting for me the whole time?!”

Loba didn’t answer, guiding Bangalore to the bed and pulling the many comforters over her once she got settled. She then proceeded to crawl under with her, re-situating herself back on top of her chest. Bangalore let out a groan, pressing her hand into her hair.

“You’re annoying,” she said.

“And you’re sick.” 

“Seriously, were you waiting for me that entire time?”

Loba growled, poking her head out from under the covers to glare at her, “of course I did!”

“Are you always this clingy when someone is under the weather? You didn’t act this way when Natalie was on bed rest for a few days.” Bangalore asked. It was a genuine question, but offense flashed across Loba’s face as she ducked back under the covers, leaving Bangalore to stare at the wall.

“She’s not important to me.”

“And I am?” 

“Yes!”

Heat rose on Bangalore’s cheeks, “I-I am?”

Loba poked her head from under the covers again, splaying her hand across her forehead. She let out a grunt of satisfaction and allowed her hand to fall onto her cheek.

“Annie, honey, you are as dumb as a brick.”

And there it was. Bangalore couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “thanks.”

“Let me finish,” Loba scolded her gently, “I’m making fun of your awful social ineptitude.”

“Thanks.”

“-That you can’t see how much I care for you. No, I don’t do this for just anyone. I do it for you.”

The heat spread from her cheeks to her neck, and Bangalore’s mouth went a little dry. She stared at Loba’s yellow eyes, looking for any hint of insincerity or humor, but she found none. She was being genuine.

“T-thanks…” 

Loba nodded, “Lycans don’t get sick. This is new to me.”

“Is it now?” Bangalore said, still dazed from her confession.

“Yes. I’m following instinct, and if they are telling me to lay on top of you, then just what I’ll do. Complaints?”

Bangalore swallowed, “Only that you haven’t kissed me yet.”

“Now, now,” Loba gave her a crooked smile, “that’s not very friendly of me, is it?”

—

Bangalore could tell Loba’s behavior was off from the moment she woke up. They had been rained out of their plans to explore the better parts of Solace City, so instead they sat inside Loba’s bedroom and watched whatever shows sounded good at the moment. Loba had been keeping distance though, odd when she usually liked to be as close as possible, and she hugged a pillow to her stomach as she watched, strangely silent from her usual ‘I-must-commentate-everything’ side.

“Something wrong, Lo?”

Loba glanced towards Bangalore, eyes running down her body and returning to her face. She hugged the pillow tighter, “Nope. Why?”

“You just seem different.”

“Fine as I ever was,” Loba turned her attention back to the TV. Her hair obscured most of her face, but from the bit of her cheek and nose that wasn’t blocked from view Bangalore could see the dusting of a blush across the skin. Smirking, Bangalore leaned back against the headrest and crossed her arms.

“Nothing on your mind?”

“As blank as can be.”

“You sure?”

“What are you getting at, Annie?” Loba looked to her as she picked up the TV remote and lowered the volume. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but from the annoyed look on her face Bangalore could tell that she prodded a bit too much. Still, Loba was like a locked box most of the time, and for once she wanted to get her to open up.

“You don’t look well,” Bangalore said, “I thought Lycan’s don’t get sick?”

Loba rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the TV as she started to flip through the channels, “you don’t even know what a Lycan is.”

“Not sick, so woke up in a mood?” As soon as the words left her lips Bangalore found herself furrowing her brow, “woke up in a mood… being snappy with me… yep, you’re on your period. Need me to go get chocolate?”

“I thought it was a man’s thing to assume that a woman is on her period because she’s a little on edge. No, I don’t.”

“But you’re on it?”

Yellow eyes rolled again, “no, I’m not. I don’t have periods.”

“You… don’t?” That was news to her; she had spotted multiple hygienic products in Loba’s bathroom, but now Bangalore supposed those could have been for her or whoever else happened to stop by Loba’s apartment.

“No, I’m in estrus,” She said matter-o-factly. And of course, in her Loba way, she went right back to browsing the TV channels, with no intent whatsoever to elaborate on what she had said. Still like a moron Bangalore waited in hopes of getting something from her, but it never came.

Finally, she sighed. “And that means?”

“You don’t know what estrus is?” Loba said, arching an eyebrow at her, “didn’t you take biology?”

“Like 24 years ago.”

Loba sighed and waved the remote around as she spoke, “means I’m in heat. Happens once a year. Perks of being a Lycan.” 

“Once a year? Hell, I’d take that over bleeding once a month.”

“Trust me, you don’t. Only thing keeping me from jumping you right now is my own self-respect.”

Bangalore touched a hand to her chest in mock offense, “am I really that awful?”

“Of course not, Annie. We’re just keeping things friendly, right?” she shot her a knowing smile. 

Blushing, Bangalore changed the subject, “so, estrus?”

“Annoying. I spot for a few days, get all swollen, and I want to jump on anything that has a vagina or a dick.” Loba said. She turned down the volume for the TV again and turned to face Bangalore, setting the pillow aside. 

“Any other personal questions you want to ask?”

Bangalore swallowed, “Uh… no?”

“Are you sure?”

Loba dropped forward onto her palms and crawled over to Bangalore, which took a good couple of seconds on the king-sized bed. From the expression on her face and the way she walked, she looked downright feral. It might have been intentional considering what Loba had told her, but still Bangalore felt on edge from the sight, leaning back to put some distance between them when she got too close.

“Well, Sergeant?” Loba gave her a smile. 

“Well what?”

“Are we still friends?”

It was a loaded question and Bangalore knew exactly what she was asking her, it didn’t stop her from plainly saying ‘yes’ though. Loba’s smile spread and she moved so she was sitting on her lap, arms hooking around her neck. Bangalore’s hands instinctively went to her hips, gripping them tightly at first before she forced herself to relax.

“Would you be doing this if you weren’t in heat?” Bangalore blurted out. Her face burned as Loba pulled back, looking at her strangely.

“Annie, honey, I’ve been wanting to do this for months now.”

The hands on her neck tugged her close and Loba kissed her hard. Bangalore didn’t even get a chance to kiss back before Loba tried to deepen it, running her hand along the shaved part of her head. Her lips moved with hers little by little, trying to match the rhythm Loba was setting. Brown eyes fell closed, and little by little Bangalore felt herself getting pushed back against the bed.

“You don’t-” Loba started to pant after they separated, “know how long… I’ve wanted to do that…”

Bangalore swallowed, “I mean, I gave you the chance a few months ago.”

“You weren’t ready then.” Loba sat back on Bangalore’s thighs, gripping the hem of her shirt so she could pull it over her head. She tossed it to the side and Bangalore’s mouth went dry; she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“I wasn’t?” She said hoarsely, hands alternating between reaching towards Loba and remaining close to her body. Loba nodded, grabbing her wrists so she could place her palms to her breasts.

“Nope. That’s fine, though; I’ve always been a patient woman.” Her hips rocked against Bangalore’s stomach twice. “Except for now. Get your shirt off.”

Bangalore let out a scoff, reaching for her own shirt hem, “what makes you think I want to have sex with you?”

Loba kissed her roughly, her oddly-rough tongue brushing against her lips until Bangalore opened up for her. She kissed with so much fervor that their teeth clinked together several times, tongue pressing up against her own as Loba grabbed her shirt and yanked it up to her neck, fingers rubbing and exploring along her toned stomach. When she finally pulled away, her pupils were unnaturally dilated, the rest of her eyes filled with lust.

“Annie, I appreciate the ‘hard to get’ persona you play up, but I’ve been horny since we woke this morning and haven’t even been able to masturbate. Save it for later.”

Bangalore nodded slowly, arching her back so Loba could remove her shirt. Her bra hugged her breasts comfortably, but within a few deft motions it was unhooked and sliding off her shoulders. It didn’t stop then; Loba rolled her hips upwards so she could get at her pajama pants and yank them down to her ankles, then kicked a foot out so only one ankle was trapped in the cloth. 

“A little excited, aren’t we?” Bangalore laughed, though it was mostly nervous. Her heart sped up at the sight of the wet patch on her underwear. Grunting, Loba scooted up, reaching her hands into her hair.

“There are so many things you can be doing with that tongue right now, and none of them include talking.” She growled. With one final thrust her groin was directly in her face. Loba was wearing a pair of thin panties, and with a single finger Bangalore was able to move the seat of it aside, revealing her swollen center.

“You-?”

“Stop. Talking.”

Bangalore mouthed a silent ‘okay’ then buried her tongue within her folds. Loba let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a moan, bucking her hips into her mouth as her nails dug into her scalp. It hurt, but the pain encouraged Bangalore to do more, parting her with one long lick, then delivering several smaller ones to her clit. Her own thighs pressed together in an attempt to gain some friction; she had a feeling she wouldn’t be getting relief from Loba for a while.

“Put your tongue inside, damn it!” Loba growled, sliding her hand around the back of her head so she could press her to her groin. Grunting, Bangalore prodded Loba’s hot entrance, squeezing her tongue in between the clenching walls. Hips ground against her face with a fervor. Pants and whines filled the room, along with the occasional obscene sound of licking. At one point Bangalore pulled her tongue out of her entrance, leading it back up to her clit as her fingers sunk into her wet center. They curled upwards, hitting a spot that drew a short cry and made sharp nails dig into her flesh.

Trying her best not to wince, Bangalore gently tapped Loba’s thigh with her free hand in an attempt to get her attention, but she was far too gone, her yellow eyes clouded with some sort of dazed expression and lust. A growl accompanied each small rock of her hips, but they were slowly leveling off into whines as Loba drew closer and closer to the edge. Hands grabbed fistfuls of her hair and pulled; painful, but not as bad as her nails digging into her scalp. Bangalore circled her clit for a moment, then wrapped her lips around the small nub and sucked, making Loba cant her hips forward as she arched down to grab a hold of the sheets instead.

Thankfully, Loba finished just as Bangalore’s jaw and head began to ache, a low rumble vibrating from her chest as she rode out her orgasm. By the time it was over, Loba drew backwards, a dark blush on her face as she kicked off the rest of her pants and yanked down her underwear.

“Clearly, you have better uses for that mouth of yours, Annie.” Loba said breathlessly. She grabbed hold of her hips and yanked her forward with a strength Bangalore didn’t know she had. A surprised cry she couldn’t help left her lips, one that Bangalore immediately felt embarrassed about as it made Loba grin.

“Now you’ll get to see what I can do.”

This was going to be a long day.

—

With Loba laying completely sideways on her chest and her brown eyes to the sunset-painted ceiling, Bangalore felt like she had an epiphany. One of those, ah, what did Octane call it that one time, post-nut clarities? Either way, she felt like a fog in her head had been lifted, and with it gone the answer was so clear she almost felt stupid for not seeing it before.

“I know what you are now.”

Loba stopped playing on her phone, shifting her head to look back at her with those unnatural yellow eyes, “that so? Enlighten me.”

“You’re a werewolf.”

A beat of silence passed between the answer before Loba let out a laugh.

“Werewolf? Don’t insult me Annie. I’m a Lycan.”

“What? There’s a difference?”

“Big one.”

Bangalore shifted up onto her elbows and Loba did the same, except after a moment she sat up completely and rolled out her shoulder, allowing Bangalore to draw in more oxygen than she had been before. She waited for the answer, but never got one. This game again.

“So, the difference?”

“I’m half-wolf, half-woman.” Loba said plainly, looking at her nails. Bangalore pursed her lips at the response. Nope, still wasn’t quite getting it. Why did she have to be so cryptic?

“And so are werewolves?” She asked.

“Nope. If a Lycan bites a human, they contract lycanthropy, which turns them into a werewolf.”

Bangalore blinked. “I’m… confused.”

“A werewolf is nothing more than a human with a disease. Lycan’s are far more elegant than that.” Loba finished, laying back down on the bed. She pulled Bangalore back down as well, caressing along her breast as she returned her hand to her side.

“I… see.”

“Did it really take you that long to figure out what Lycan meant?”

Bangalore felt herself blush. Loba stared at her for a while, possibly expecting a response, before she gave her a warm smile.

“Seriously? My name, “She-wolf,” the tattoo of a wolf on my neck,” she gestured to it, “The whole ‘I’m a man-eater’ line in my first interview?”

Bangalore stared at her blankly, feeling her face heat more and more from the embarrassment.

“These,” Loba pulled up her top lip, exposing large and sharp canines, along with a pair of equally sharp twins behind them. “The eyes? The nails? Come on, Annie, don’t tell me it took you a year.”

“I… uh, I guess I’m not that observant.” Bangalore murmured, rubbing along her chest. She felt like crawling into the blanket and hiding away from Loba’s amused gaze, but that would make it even worse. Thankfully, she let out another laugh, shifting across the bed so she could hug Bangalore’s waist. They sat in silence for a long time, long enough that Loba’s eyes had closed and she seemed asleep. Bangalore couldn’t bring herself to follow her though, one question still burning at the forefront of her mind. She found herself gripping at Loba’s shoulder and she let out a small grunt in response, peeking an eye open.

“Does anyone else know?” Bangalore asked.

Loba let out a deep breath through her nose, snuggling into her chest, “Jamie does, couple others too. I don’t tell people that often, too much of a headache.”

Bangalore hummed. Her fingers drummed across Loba’s skin, “so why did you tell me when we first started hanging out? You barely knew me for a month then.” 

“You…” for once, Loba was the one at a loss for words. She shifted on the bed and Bangalore found herself staring into yellow eyes as she hung over her, hair created a curtain between them and the rest of the world.

“You were different.”

Bangalore felt her mouth go dry as Loba drew in close, their noses almost touching.

“Lo?”

“Hm?”

“What does ‘mate’ mean?”

Loba grinned at her, exposing sharp canines that Bangalore had otherwise never noticed before. She felt her heart skip a beat as she closed the space so her lips fluttered against hers.

“It means you’re mine.”


	2. Being Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the months drag on, Bangalore realizes that Loba is a lot more reserved than she originally thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part guys :3
> 
> make sure to check out the story this was inspired by!

“I’ve noticed some things about you lately.”

Loba hardly looked up from her phone, scrolling through whatever feed she was on with her pinky. Bangalore would have thought she was ignoring her if it weren’t for the slight raise of her left eyebrow, a silent indication for her to go on with her statement.

“You haven’t been sleeping, you just lay there.” Bangalore finished.

With a sigh, Loba set her phone down and rubbed at her eyes, “What can I say? I’m a sleepless elite.”

“Recently? Because I don’t exactly remember you having bags under your eyes all the time.” 

Loba sighed again and leaned back on the sofa, sinking into the leather cushioning. They were in a small seating area separate from the living room, with a window wall overlooking the towers of Solace city and bookshelves surrounding them everywhere else. The books were dust-free and in perfect condition; Bangalore was sure that she hadn’t once witnessed Loba picking one up. Truthfully, she didn’t see a need for the room other than it was nice to take naps back here. Something that she’d seen Loba doing more and more often.

“Sure, point out a woman’s bags. Good to know my makeup skills have wavered.”

“Not what I was saying.”

“It’s a Lycan thing, Annie. I’ll be fine in a week.”

Bangalore rolled her eyes. ‘Lycan thing’ was the catch all to any question Loba didn’t feel like answering. Thankfully, she felt like arguing today.

“What kind of lycan thing?”

Loba shook her head, “One you shouldn’t be concerned with.”

“When it comes to my roommate being one, I should be concerned.”

“Roommate? Interesting title…” 

“Look,” Bangalore pinched the bridge of her nose, sitting up from the sofa, “I’m concerned about you.”

“How touching.”

“I’m serious.”

It was Loba’s turn to be frustrated; she shook her head and kicked her legs up onto the couch so she could rest her back against the armrest. Nevermind the fact that the sofa was a recliner.

“Annie-”

“Lo.”

“Oh, you did not just pull that one on me.” Yellow eyes glared at her. Upon seeing the look of worry on Bangalore’s face, though, Loba’s resolve melted away and she rubbed at her face with a manicured hand.

“It’s just… I haven’t gone for a run in a while.”

Huh? Bangalore furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what was packed into that statement that Loba didn’t feel like saying out loud. She was noticeably tenser than she had been before, but that was usual for her whenever Bangalore asked her to go into detail; while she didn’t mind stating that a behavior she had was because of being a lycan, Loba always got uncomfortable when she had to explain more. It was so consistent that Bangalore wondered if she was ashamed of it.

Bangalore had been silent for so long that a firm blush had spread over Loba’s cheeks, “I haven’t shifted since you moved in. After a while I get restless. Nothing else about it, Anita.”

Now that was a warning sign: her full name being used. It meant she had treaded into some uncomfortable territory. She had to nip this conversation in the bud while she still-

“That why you’ve been snappy lately?”

Damn her mouth.

“No,” Loba snapped, “I’ve not— I just did it, didn’t I?” 

“Yeah.”

Loba hid her eyes with her hand, “Sorry.”

“Loba Andrade apologizing? That’s a new one. Anyway, why haven’t you gone furry?”

Instead of answering Loba crossed her arms and fixated on the window. Her body language had closed off; Bangalore prodded into something sore. Maybe it was time to back off. Though it was tempting to finally learn something about the woman, Loba shouldn’t have to answer anything she doesn’t want to.

“Look, you don’t have to-”

“No,” Loba interrupted. She sat up, her eyes meeting Bangalore’s. The yellow in her corneas seemed to glow, even with the midday light flooding the room.

“Lycan’s can change whenever they please, save for a full moon. There are… remedies for avoiding that involuntary shift though. I’ve been taking them since you’ve started to live here.” 

Bangalore let the information soak in, trying to ignore that part of her head saying ‘when did I get stuck in some centuries old werewolf movie?’

“Why?”

“While I enjoy all the power and amazing nails it gives me, it’s not a part of me I like sharing with others. I reap the benefits privately,” Loba explained.

Bangalore frowned, “Still not sure if I understand.”

“It’s… look, just forget it.”

“I’m not going to forget it if it’s directly affecting your health, Lo. I can get lost for a night if you want to-”

“Drop the subject.”

And though she really didn’t want to, Bangalore knew better than to push Loba. So she kept her mouth shut and turned her attention back to the word search she had been doing prior to the conversation. 

_Why do you make it so difficult to help you, Lo?_

—

No amount of blankets that Bangalore bundled herself up in helped against the chilling air of the apartment, and that was saying something because Loba was the proud owner of many fluffy blankets. After several minutes of trying to find the warmest spot in the house, Bangalore gave up and ventured out from the blanket sanctuary she built on the bed.

“I’m turning the air up!” she called out to Loba.

She swore she never heard a toilet flush so fast in her life. Loba barged out of the bathroom, hands still covered with soap.

“You will do no such thing.”

“I’m freezing my ass off.”

“-And you want me to sweat?”

“It’s the middle of winter.”

“Leave my thermostat alone.”

Bangalore rolled her eyes and left the room. She heard Loba closely follow behind her, though when she passed by the kitchen Loba took a quick detour to wash her hands of the soap. By the time she caught up with her, Bangalore was in the utility room and moving aside detergents to get to the thermostat. As she reached for it a hand caught around her wrist and yanked it back.

“When you start paying bills, you can touch it.” Loba growled, eyes flashing dangerously.

“You won’t let me give you money!”

“Exactly.”

Bangalore pulled her hand out of her grip. Or, at least, she tried to, Loba didn’t let go for anything, and the attempt only made her hold on that much tighter. Frowning, Bangalore made a reach with her other hand, only for Loba to grab that one and turn her around to pin her to the washing machine.

“No touching,” Loba muttered, her nose an inch away from hers, “the thermostat.”

Bangalore felt her face grow hot, “Loba it’s in the minus outside, and it’s 50 degrees in here. I can see my own breath.”

Though now that they were so close, Bangalore could feel the warmth radiating off of Loba’s body and her palms were hot to the touch. Loba never seemed bothered by the cold, but she was always the first one to complain about the heat.

“This is a lycan thing, isn’t it?” Bangalore asked. Loba scoffed, letting her go as she backed off, deliberately circling around so she could put herself between Bangalore and the thermostat.

“If you are going to accuse me of puppy guarding the thermostat, I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.”

“Actually,” Bangalore started, “I was going to say not liking the heat.”

“It’s not that I don’t like the heat-” Loba trailed off as she started to mess the with the little panel that controlled the temperatures. Apparently, there was a setting for each room. Bangalore would never understand rich people things.

“It’s that-?” Bangalore prompted her.

“Humans like you have a resting body temperature of 98 degrees, right? Lycan’s rest at 104; what’s cold to you is pleasant to me.”

“So I’m the one that has to suffer?”

“Well, we can cuddle for warmth if the cold bothers you so much.”

“Then it’s like a furnace,” Bangalore whined.

Loba pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned, setting a hand on her shoulder so she could shoo her out of the utility room. They headed for the bedroom, where she dragged her unwilling ‘roommate’ into bed. 

“It’s not so bad, Annie.”

“You haven’t slept with you.”

Loba settled the covers over them, reaching over to press the button on the side of her bed that turned off all the lights in the room and turned on the blue LED’s that Loba needed for sleep. It made the painted sunset on the ceiling look more like an evening sky. The blankets rustled as she shifted over them, wrapping her arms around Bangalore’s torso. While the comforter and sheets were ice cold, they were quickly warming up with the two bodies under them.

“See? Isn’t this nice, Annie? You don’t even have to touch the thermostat.”

Bangalore sighed, pressing closer to Loba, “I know I’m going to wake up in the middle of the night sweating my ass off.”

“But for now-?” Loba prodded her chest gently.

“For now this will work,” Bangalore said.

Loba nodded, pleased. She wriggled underneath the covers and Bangalore drew the rest of them over her head, knowing from experience that Loba would start to grumble if she didn’t do so soon. Fingers stroked across her cloth-covered hair, eyes closing little by little. It wasn’t long before Bangalore fell asleep.

By 3am Bangalore woke up in a puddle of her own sweat with Loba laying on top of her. She didn’t have the heart to move her.

—

Bangalore wasn’t one for materialistic gestures of appreciation, but when she saw the necklace passing by the jewelry shop that morning, she couldn’t help but stop and stare at it for longer than two seconds. The price tag was nothing to sneeze at, and she knew Loba would make a remark about her rather wanting to swipe it while the stop owners weren’t looking, but still Bangalore found herself at the cash register not long after, forking over the several digit amount they asked for the piece of metal and leaving the store with a velvet box in hand and a lighter bank account. She had left the gym and it seemed like a better idea to leave it in her bag rather than risk her sweat messing with the velvet in some way.

In other words, she forgot about it.

That is until the next morning, when she unzipped her bag to put in her change of clothes and found it sitting there, snuggled between her boxing gloves and headphones.

“Huh,” Bangalore said out loud, reaching for it and turning it this way and that. Loba was in the kitchen, either making breakfast or inputting the command into one of those help bots of hers. Now would be a good time as any to give it to her, right? Bangalore smirked, stuffing the box into her back pocket and heading for the kitchen.

Behind the marble counters, Loba was engrossed within a holo. The usually-immaculately clean kitchen was a mess of ingredients and various mixing bowls. Bangalore danced around the large stove/grill/double oven set and took her place at Loba’s side.

“Lo,”

Her head snapped up, wide yellow eyes staring at Bangalore.

“Doing some cooking?”

Loba looked back to the holo, then glanced at the counter full of stuff, “actually, I was plotting my next big heist.”

Bangalore rolled her eyes at the sarcasm, her fingers dancing along the velvet of the box. She leaned on the counter, her height making it easier for her to rest the seat of her pants against it. Loba’s face twisted with annoyance as she swatted her off.

“Off the counter, I just disinfected that.”

“You clean?”

“The _robot_ just disinfected that.”

“I got you something.”

That caught Loba’s attention, and she raised an eyebrow, cocking a hip out as she placed her hand on it. In her pajama pants and crop top, it was way hotter than it should be, and it occurred to Bangalore that she wouldn’t mind skipping the gym this morning should the opportunity arise.

“Did you now? You shouldn’t have, Annie,” Loba looked at her nails, “I do have everything.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have this.” Bangalore pulled the box out from her pocket and presented it to Loba. 

She smirked, “Too soon for that one.”

“It’s not a ring,” Bangalore coughed into her other hand, a blush forming over her nose and cheeks.

“Then it’s a-?”

Bangalore popped open the lid, presenting the gemmed necklace, “It’s a neck-”

She trailed off. Loba had jumped a full foot back, falling onto her rump, eyes wide with terror as she scrambled away from Bangalore.

“Get that away from me!”

Glancing down at the necklace, Bangalore quickly set it to the side, before rushing over to Loba’s side. Her attempt to help her up was swiped away with a hand, leaving several thin scratch marks on her wrist.

“Argh!” Bangalore yelled more in surprise than in pain. A pang of betrayal shot through her, but when she looked at Loba and saw that she was trembling, whatever she felt quickly went away. Swallowing, Bangalore backed away, shaking out her aching hand. Give Loba a second, or help? She struggled with the decision.

“Uh… sorry?” Bangalore tried.

That seemed to snap Loba out of whatever trance she was in, “What?”

“Sorry for getting you a necklace?”

“What? No, that’s not-” Loba sighed, standing from the floor and brushing off her pants. “Sorry. Visceral reaction.”

“Lycan thing?” Bangalore asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yep.”

“Didn’t know you guys hated necklaces.”

Loba strode over, eyeing the box from afar suspiciously, as if it would sprout legs and run at her at any second. When she got close enough, however, her gaze returned to hers and she wrapped her arms around her neck and leaned into her. Her lips fluttered against her jawline.

“It’s made of silver, Annie,” Loba murmured. She swept her tongue across her skin.

Bangalore swallowed, breath caught in her throat. How Loba still had that effect after a year of getting used to her would never cease to amaze her.

“Ri-right.”

“Natural Lycan repellent.”

“Yeah…”

“I appreciate the gesture; it’s very sweet. Maybe go for gold next time?”

“Uh-huh…”

A crooked smile spread across Loba’s face, “You do know I can smell your arousal, right?”

Bangalore nodded, not trusting her words.

With a laugh, Loba placed her lips against her neck, “You’re so easy. Let’s go get that hand fixed up.”

—

Bangalore’s mind always burned with a thousand questions, and now that Loba didn’t really seem to sleep anymore, it made it harder and harder for Bangalore to resist staying up with her and asking them. They were naked, tangled with each other and the sheets of the bed. Loba’s warmth fending off the cold threatening to creep in between the gaps of the blanket. She knew it was well past midnight, but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. Not while Loba was in a good mood and might not mind answering some things for once.

“So,” Bangalore said.

“If you ask me something stupid like ‘what would you do if I died right here?’, I’ll make you pay rent.”

Bangalore laughed, “Wasn’t planning on that one.”

“Good.” Loba snuggled into her chest, breathing in deeply.

“Actually I wanted to ask you things about being a Lycan.”

Loba tensed, “Oh, that’s even worse.”

“I guess my first question would be why you don’t like talking about it,” Bangalore pressed on anyway, even as she felt Loba tense up more and her arms start to withdraw from her waist.

“It’s too much explaining and none of it is necessary.”

Bangalore pursed her lips, running her fingers down one of Loba’s braids. She’d argue back that it was necessary, but she needed to tread this topic lightly, lest she wanted Loba to close up. The fact that she even told her why she didn’t like to talk about it was a miracle in itself, even though Bangalore suspected that wasn’t the entire truth. She remembered what Loba told her the other day, and tried to branch off of that:

“You don’t like sharing it.”

“It brings too many questions.”

“And?”

“I’m a woman of few answers.”

Loba’s hand trailed across her pelvis, then down to her groin. Knowing what she was trying to do, Bangalore intercepted her hand, lacing her fingers with hers instead.

“How did you find out?” Bangalore tried.

A tired sigh was her response. Loba pulled away, flopping over so she faced away from Bangalore. Damn, Anita; you pushed too hard. She wanted to reach out to her and let her know it was okay not to talk, but even that might not go over well. Loba didn’t like it when she felt like she was being pitied. It was a miracle she hadn’t already retreated to the guest room. 

Letting out her own sigh, Bangalore pulled the sheets over her shoulder and faced the window that led out to the room’s balcony. The moon was full, but Loba had swallowed something earlier while they were in the kitchen. Bangalore couldn’t help but wonder if that played into any part of why she dragged her into bed not long after, a wild look in her eyes and desperation in every motion. Something that, when compared to the normally sultry smoothness Loba had when initiating sex, was off and worrying.

“I was 14.”

Bangalore looked over her shoulder. Loba still faced the wall.

Emotionless, she continued, “Silly little me thought the necklace I snatched was cursed. It was just a poor coincidence, but it had me convinced for a few years. Ugh, I wish I never broke the thing; it was worth a lot.”

Bangalore didn’t dare say anything, in case interjecting would make Loba close up again.

“The first 6 years were… _awful_ , but after that I figured out fighting the change was the worst possible thing you can do and it got easier. I learned to cope with my inner wolf.”

Bangalore spotted the opening, “You mentioned that when we were watching that movie. Did it bring back any bad memories?”

“Memories?” Loba rolled over to face her, “I don’t remember anything from shifting. It comes back to me in nightmares sometimes. Those and the damn demonio haunt my dreams.” At the very least she looked amused by the question. Bangalore chanced scooting closer to her; Loba didn’t withdraw.

“How did you find out you weren’t cursed?”

Loba glanced to the side, “When I was put in the system, they erased everything. I wasn’t Loba Andrade, I was Loba whatever last name they suited me with. Marcos and Alanza never had a daughter, and their deaths were unfortunate accidents. Any memorabilia I had of them were destroyed: photos, videos, drawings I made that they put on their fridge. My foster ‘families’ treated me like I had always been an orphan. When the system finally spat me out, I went searching for something, anything, that showed me they existed. Turns out, one of my first fosters had a photograph in my file: mamãe and papai, sitting with me in our old living room. One look at their faces again was all I needed to know it was genetic.”

“Your dad?” Bangalore asked.

Loba barked out a laugh, “Mamãe.”

Bangalore nodded, mumbling ‘right’ to herself quietly. Loba closed the distance between them, snuggling back into her arms as her hot skin pressed against hers. She ran her lips along her jawline, then bared them back so sharp canines scraped against her flesh.

“Razor sharp smile, just like mine.”

She nicked her skin, drawing a bead of blood that was quickly swept away by a wet, sand-papery tongue. Bangalore sucked in a breath, pressing her legs together, hand gripping Loba’s hips tightly. When did they end up there?

“Why have you-”

“No more questions, Annie.”

Any protests Bangalore had were dashed away the moment Loba’s lips met hers, her hand trailing between her legs once more.

—

Loba hardly reacted to Bangalore’s presence when she walked into her apartment; lying face down on her shag carpet, dead asleep and still wearing half her gear. She felt the same way, and she couldn’t wait to strip out of her corset and heels, hop into the shower, and go to bed. Blinking her tired eyes, Loba headed for Bangalore, sliding her arms under her and flopping her onto her back so she at least had better airflow.

‘Losing sucks’ Loba thought to herself, but at least she had placed better than Bangalore, which further proved her point that, yes, she was the better fighter. Tired feet kicked their heels off to the side, already unzipped from when Loba was waiting in the elevator earlier. She took a moment to head into the kitchen on the way to her shower, grabbing the bottle of pills sitting on the counter and swallowing two of them, grimacing as they burned their way down her throat. Full moon tonight.

Her en suite bathroom was around the size of a standard living room, and the shower had its own separate section. Equipped with shower heads on each wall, and a reflective door that dimmed down for privacy, it was like a separate sanctuary to her. Loba painstakingly removed the rest of her gear, dropping it all in a pile next to the shower door, and stepped into the room, sighing as the door automatically shut behind her and the panel next to it lit up, awaiting directions. She wasted no time setting the temperature to ‘hot’.

Loba bared her weight against the mosaic wall with her palms, letting the water run down her back. A broken moan left her lips as she arched into it. God that felt good. That had to be the worst part about taking the wolvesbayne, the aches. Not the restlessness, nor the constant urge to hunt, but how every part of her body ached for the change. How fire lingered beneath her skin, the wolf inside her crying to be let free. The last time she shifted had been months ago, the night before Bangalore officially moved into her apartment, and Loba had told herself that she would be able to handle living ‘normally’. 

Man, she was eating those words.

It turned out there were a lot more side effects than she thought, and ironically those did more to strip her of her humanity than shifting did. She thought like the wolf more than she thought like the human, and normally-easy-to-repress animalistic instincts were becoming harder to control. But none of that was compared to the physical side effects, the pains, the burning, the constant hunger. Loba sighed, shaking her hair free of water, combing her fingers through it to loosen the braids. Sensitive ears twitched at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Even through the thick moisture in the air she could pick out Bangalore’s scent; gunpowder and cologne.

“Oh, do join~” she sang, a smirk pulling across her lips as she dialed the temperature down. Bangalore didn’t like hot showers.

“You know it freaks me out when you do that, right?”

Loba didn’t care to respond, far too excited at the sound of Bangalore’s gear and clothes hitting the floor. Moments later the door slid open and Bangalore, in all her beautiful, naked glory, stepped in. Loba wasted no time wrapping her arms around her neck and pulling her into the stream, hungrily kissing her lips and trailing down to her neck.

“My kill leader,” she growled out, lingering on her jugular to give it extra attention.

“You- _Hng-_ took that one from me.”

“What can I say? I’m the better player.”

“Please.”

Loba moved down to the junction where her shoulder and neck met, feeling herself go involuntarily still as she fought the temptation to bite down. Ugh, that instinct would never stop being annoying. Taking the wolvesbayne only amplified it, as for whatever reason her inner wolf was convinced that without a mark to show who Bangalore belonged to, anyone could take her. For a moment she wondered if her mother ever marked her father, but remembering them pained her so she quickly let go of that thought.

“I’m way too tired to be getting frisky with you.” Bangalore mumbled, but she still held her head with her hand, pushing her onto her skin. 

Loba snorted, “Who says I’m getting frisky?”

“You’ve been doing it a lot lately. It makes me feel very desirable.”

Ah, yeah… that was another side effect. Sex, blood, or meat; the wolf didn’t care as long as it got one of them.

“You are very desirable.”

Loba pulled away from her, finally reaching for the body wash on the rack hanging from the wall. She didn’t feel like going through the trouble of washing her hair today. 

“That's why you kept following me around?”

“Just making sure you didn’t get yourself into any trouble with the demon on your team.” Loba scoffed, squirting soap onto a loofah.

“You sure you weren’t puppy guarding me? Sure took out a lot of people sneaking up on me.”

“I would do no such thing for one of my competitors,” Loba brushed her off. So what if she happened to take out Octane, who had a clear sniper shot on Bangalore, or Bloodhound, who activated their ult so they could run after her and soon found themselves falling into the chasm after she kicked them into it. It was all coincidence. Really. It had nothing to do with that screaming urge to protect her mate.

Not at all.

“And besides, I ended up killing you in the end, didn’t I? Makes up for letting you get into that 5th place spot.”

Bangalore snorted, “If you say so.”

Rolling her eyes, Loba turned around, scrubbing her shoulder as she reached for the bar of soap she used to wash her face.

“Um.”

Loba glanced over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow up. She knew Bangalore liked it when she did that.

“You have fur.”

Any amusement she felt was quickly replaced by horror as she slapped a hand onto the mid of her back, feeling the thick fur. Swearing, Loba turned around in an attempt to look at it, only to find herself running in a circle. Hands gripped onto her shoulder, grounding her, and Loba found herself looking into Bangalore’s amused-but-concerned brown eyes.

“Guess it’s time for another day-long shaving session?”

“I just-?”

Loba shook her head, wiping her hand down her face. Add that on the list of side-effects. She thought she knew all of them at this point, but this was the longest she had gone without shifting. Even when Jamie had stayed with her that one time it had only been for three months; he thought she was lying about the whole thing when he never saw her Lycan form. 

“This is about you taking those remedies, isn’t it?”

And oh was Bangalore too smart for her own good. She wished she was like the rest of the IMC soldiers she met: dumb and unquestioning.

“Maybe I felt like trying out a new look.”

Bangalore laughed, “Lady, I know how you are about body hair.”

“It doesn’t concern you, Annie.”

“You know, you spent so long trying to get me to figure out what a Lycan is, and now that I know what it is, you seem keen on trying to act like you aren’t one.”

Loba tensed, feeling her temper spike a little at that. It was uncomfortably close to the truth. She finished soaping up her body and stepped back into one of the streams, scrubbing off the suds.

“We are _not_ arguing in a shower.”

“I’m not trying to argue, I’m trying to understand.”

“There’s nothing to understand.”

“Why don’t you trust me, Lo?”

Bangalore’s frustrated sigh made Loba freeze up in the midst of scrubbing, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Trusting Bangalore; she had known her for a year and a half and she was the closest friend she had in the games. Did she trust her, though? Loba bit her lip, nails digging into her skin. She trusted her enough to tell about the secret she wanted to bury only one month into their friendship. She trusted her enough to let her into her home. She trusted her enough to tell her about her trauma regarding the brutal discovery of her tainted blood. And in that way, Bangalore was similar to Jamie, because she trusted them the same way. In that she trusted both of them enough to never want them to see that part of her.

Only difference between them was that she loved this damn woman. 

—

The best part about Loba’s bathroom being the size of a small apartment was that there was no waiting for the other to be finished. There were two sinks, side by side, and more than enough room to move around. Bangalore glanced to the edge of her mirror at the sound of Loba walking in, trudging towards the mirror while looking like she hadn’t slept in days— which she definitely hadn't. That wasn’t what caught her eye though, nor what she was staring at when Loba filled her toothbrush with toothpaste and raised it to her mouth.

“Nice teeth.”

Loba nodded sluggishly, her eyes closed. Bangalore rinsed her own toothbrush off and leaned on the counter, counting the seconds until Loba finally realized what she meant by that.

Surprisingly, it took a full minute until Loba was spewing foamy toothpaste into the sink and frantically pulling her lips back, yellow eyes wide with surprise. Sharp canines, normally snugly hidden away, were now large and protruding. Loba opened her mouth and Bangalore noticed that the rest of her teeth had sharpened into a similar state. 

“So, you sure you-?”

“ _Not_ ,” Loba snapped, voice laced with a deep growl, “a word.”

Bangalore obeyed, but she couldn’t keep herself from smirking as Loba stomped around the bathroom, opening drawers and searching through them. She couldn’t keep her eyes off her face, semi shrouded with a mess of curly hair and twisted with frustration. If she were being honest, Loba with fangs was pretty damn hot and the anger added to the overall feral look. She couldn’t help herself from coming up behind her and wrapping her arms around her waist, pulling her close so she could kiss the side of her neck. From the mirror in front of them she could see Loba’s defeated expression.

“The way you look right now is doing things to me I didn’t know were possible,” Bangalore muttered into her ear. Her heart fluttered at Loba’s answering smile.

“Glad one of us likes it.”

“You should love every part of yourself, you know? It’s not good to feel hate.”

“I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it.”

Bangalore let out a hum, pressing her face into her neck.

“It’s… complicated,” Loba mumbled.

“You sure seemed proud of it about a year ago.”

“I am proud of it.”

“But you don’t like it?”

“Like I said,” Loba gently pulled away from her, turning around to face Bangalore, “it’s complicated.”

Bangalore hummed, staring at her arms, wondering if it was a good time to point out the thick silvery fur trailing from wrist to elbow. Loba sat up and stretched out, soft pops emitting from her back. She let out a low groan.

“I’m heading back to bed, want to join?”

“I need to go to the gy-”

“You should join.”

Well, who could argue with that? Bangalore followed Loba to the bed, waiting for her to crawl into the mess of sheets and blankets before she took her spot. A Loba-shaped lump shuffled about, before her head popped out of one of the blankets, yellow eyes piercing into Bangalore.

“You’re easy to bother, aren’t you?” Loba said with a smirk. Like a lion she stalked up towards Bangalore so she could hang over her.

She swallowed, “What?”

Rather than answer, Loba tapped her nose. Bangalore blushed.

“So what if I am? I never had a roommate as bothersome as you.”

“I find it adorable that you are still calling me roommate, considering I’ve seen you naked more times than I can count.”

Sucking in a breath, she rested her hands on Loba’s waist, enjoying the feeling of smooth skin and toned muscle. “Want to see it again?”

Loba hummed and raised her arm into the air so she could look at the fur. Apparently she did notice it earlier. 

“As long as I can stay clothed. I’d rather not learn how bad this is getting.”

“Lo, you’re only hurting yourself by doing this, you know? If I cared about you being a Lycan I would have left a long time ago.”

Loba paused. She was in the middle of lifting Bangalore’s shirt up.

She took a chance, “Lo, I can’t sit here and watch you do this to yourself. Either you talk to me or-“

“Don’t you dare give me an ultimatum.” 

“What choice are you giving me? You say it’s complicated, but I knew any better I’d say you are ashamed of it,” Bangalore said.

Loba sat up, pelvis grinding into hers, “I’m not ashamed of anything.”

“Then stop making me play the damn guessing game and _communicate_ for fucks sake!”

The moment the words were out of her mouth Bangalore regretted it. She couldn’t remember the last time she snapped like that at anyone, much less Loba. The look on her face told her that she was just as surprised as she was. Loba pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. Bangalore hoped that was the extent of her reaction, because she didn’t want to know first hand what she could do with those fangs.

“Anita-“

Full name. Not good.

“I lo- I like you a lot; I don’t mean to keep things from you. This topic is one among the many I have problems talking about. It’s not about you, it’s about me.”

Bangalore bit her cheek, holding back a remark.

“You asked me a few weeks ago if I trusted you; I do. I trust you more than anyone else I’ve known. And that’s saying a lot because I don’t trust people.” Loba slid off of her, pulling at her arm to indicate she wanted her to sit with her. “The worst part about being what I am is that it’s always a conversation that needs to be had, and frankly after 20 years I’m tired of it.”

Bangalore shrugged her shoulders, “I would be too.”

Loba nodded. Her fingers were idly playing with the silver fur, “I was always a thief, by blood and by heart; it is a part of me I could easily accept. This… not so much. You spend your entire life scared of demons and monsters, only to find out you are one? It shook me to my core, and I hurt a lot of people in those 6 years where I didn’t know how to control it. At one point, I thought me and the damn robot were one in the same.”

“You’re not,” Bangalore said, reaching a hand to her thigh. Loba patted it absent-mindedly, staring off at some point in the room.

“I know that now. I _am_ proud of being what I am, it has a lot of benefits, but it’s lonely. You aren’t human, but you are civilized enough to talk and act like one. You aren’t an animal, but you crave all the things an animal wants. One part of your brain is focused on stealing prized possessions and flirting, the other wants to hunt and kill whoever you are talking to. When Lycans shift, it is indulgent in our baser instincts; we don’t lose control, per say, but the human takes a back seat. I’ve never been ashamed of my wolf, but there are some people I just want to be human for. You’re… one of them.”

“I’ve been taking the remedies because I want to be normal for you, clearly-” Loba raised her arm up again, examining it with a grimace, “that’s not really working out. To be fair, I’ve never taken the remedies for this long; I didn’t realize that after a while the wolf would get tired of being contained.”

“You didn’t have to do that for me, Lo.”

“I realize that now,” Loba sighed. She fluffed her hair with a hand. “I should be apologizing to only myself, though.” 

She seemed upset, but not enough that she would reject her touch. Bangalore reached over, pulling her into her muscular arms and leaning back against the headrest. A small sigh escaped from her as she snuggled up into her chest. For a moment whatever tension the conversation had brought seemed to bleed away, and it was just Bangalore and Loba. She only wished that Loba would realize how human these moments felt to her.

“I’ll go out tonight,” Loba piped up after several minutes of silence.

“Promise?”

“I don’t make promises. I make assertions,”

Bangalore couldn’t help but laugh, “Should I pack you a lunchbox?”

“Actually, if you could tape my phone to my back, that’d be great.”

Bangalore let out another laugh, but Loba didn’t join her. She stared expectantly.

“The wolf is good about bringing me home, then there are the times where I wake up 20 miles out of the city with no gps. Seriously, tape my phone to my back.”

“I mean… if you insist.”

Loba snuggled up against her again, “Thank you.”

Bangalore nodded.

_Love you too._

\--

Bangalore wasn’t expecting to receive a text as early as 5 in the morning, but thankfully she had already been up to receive. Mostly because she hadn’t slept knowing that Loba was out there running amok. Though she had played the relaxed part of a supportive girl- roommate when Loba was heading out of the apartment, her worry manifested the moment she knew Loba was out of the apartment.

Her transport rumbled to a stop, setting itself down on fancy railings as the side door opened up automatically. Bangalore didn’t get out immediately, still glancing at her phone and the last few texts exchanged.

_Loba- Alright, going furry now ;)_

_Bangalore- Be careful_

_Loba- Always._

_Loba- Back. Come get me, use gps tracker. (sent 5:17)_

Bangalore looked at the tracker app. It was leading her north, and it gave her an ETA of five minutes to Loba’s location. The transporter had taken her as far as it could, but eventually the thick trees of the nesting grounds had been too much for the vehicle. The sound of a flyer screaming overhead made Bangalore pale. She hated those things.

“Lo?!” She called out, glancing at her tracker again. ETA, 4 secs.

“My eyes are down here… also my body.”

Bangalore glanced to where she heard the voice, stopping in her tracks before she found herself falling into the ditch in front of her. There Loba laid, one arm propping her head up and the other scrolling on her phone. Her legs were crossed over one another, and overall she looked far too casual for her to be lying naked in a hole, covered in blood and sitting next to a flyer corpse.

“You definitely look the part of a werewolf right now,” Bangalore said. She had the fangs, the claws, and patches of silver fur to complete the look. Loba set her phone on her chest, glaring at her, yellow eyes far too brilliant to be natural.

“What did I tell you? I’m not a werewolf, I’m a Lycan. Lycans are far more elegant than werewolves.”

“I’m not sure what's elegant about sitting in a hole covered in blood. Also, you smell. Let’s get you out of there so you can shower.”

Loba rolled her eyes, “Thanks. Love it when I’m insulted first thing in the morning.” she accepted the hand Bangalore offered her, allowing herself to be pulled up out of the hole. Almost immediately Bangalore found herself rushing to steady her as Loba nearly collapsed on her feet.

“Woah, girly. You okay?” Her casual tone hardly masked the immense concern she felt.

“I’m fine, just exhausted. I can walk.” And then, as if the world had a sense of humor, the moment Loba took a step away from her she fell face first into the dirt. For a moment she laid there, then she rolled over to look at Bangalore, a blush forming across her cheeks. Silently, she held her arms out.

The walk to the transport wasn’t far, but Loba felt like dead weight on her back, and Bangalore was still exhausted from staying up all night. She didn’t dare allow a complaint to escape her, though. She could deal with it if it meant providing for Loba.

“Deer nearby,” Loba murmured into her ear. Her mouth was resting on the back of her neck.

“Mhm.”

“I can’t chase it.”

“And I won’t.”

Loba let out a small, dog-like whine,“It’s good food, Annie.”

“When we get home there will be plenty of good food for you.”

“But-”

“No buts, we’re going home, taking a shower, putting on clothes and putting you to bed.”

“Normally you want me naked if you are getting me in bed.”

Bangalore scoffed, “Not with those teeth of yours. You’d probably slice my clit off.”

“They’ll revert soon.” Loba tried, but Bangalore shook her head. She had a feeling Loba wasn’t quite thinking straight right now.

Her point was further proven when she felt a tongue run across the back of her neck.

“Did you just lick me?”

“What?”

“You licked me.”

Loba scoffed, “No I didn’t, I’m doing this.” and she proceeded to run the back of her nails up and down her neck which, while feeling nice, didn’t feel like a wet sand-papery tongue running across her nape.

Bangalore shifted her upwards, finally coming into view of the transport, “That’s not what you did, girly.”

“So what if I did lick you?! “ Loba snapped, digging her nails into her shoulders.

“It’s- _ow! Careful!-_ it's not a big deal. Jesus, you’re moody today,” Bangalore said, wincing as the nails relaxed.

Loba grumbled something that sounded like ‘I’m not moody,’ resting her head on her shoulder again. As Bangalore carried her to the passenger side she thought that would be the end of the shenanigans, but that hope was dashed away the moment she felt teeth graze against her shoulder.

“Loba?”

“Mhm?” She still hadn’t taken her mouth away from that soft section where her neck and shoulder met.

“Don’t bite me.”

“Why not?”

“It’ll hurt.”

“Don’t you want people to know we’re mates? You get to do the same thing to me.” Loba purred in her ear. Grimacing, Bangalore turned and squatted downwards so Loba was partially inside the car. Thankfully, she let go, allowing Bangalore to breathe a sigh of relief as she ran her hand over her tingling skin.

“I never agreed to this mate thing,” Bangalore said, shutting the door. She circled around to the driver side. Opening the door, she sat in the cushioned seat and sighed, inputting the coordinates to Loba’s apartment into the control console.

“Neither did I; it’s involuntary and I’ve pretty much imprinted on you at this point.” Loba yawned. She cuddled into the seats, shutting her eyes. As the transport started to take off Bangalore reached into the backseat, grabbing the bag of old clothes she brought.

“Here.”

A yellow eye opened, staring at the bag, “What is it?”

“Clothes.”

Loba scoffed, shutting her eyes and pulling away from the bag, “I will not be held back by restrictive cloth.”

“Am I talking to the human or the wolf right now?” Bangalore laughed, pulling the bag away. Loba shuffled towards the window, stretching out as much as the seat would let her.

“Both.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bangalore has the mark, and none of the answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here again with another chapter of this weird little story! And what's this... it's a two parter? I meant for this to be one chapter but once I got past 10k words I figured it might be best to split it up. No idea when the second part will be finished, but hopefully the wait won't be too long.
> 
> Just a note, this was written before Season 7 and the new map was announced, so Olympus and how long it takes to travel there is going to be inaccurate to what we have in canon, sorry!
> 
> And of course, be sure to check out the inspiration to this story!

“Hey, you feeling okay?”

Even the simple question made Loba jump, whipping around to look at Bangalore with wide-eyes uncharacteristic of her. Bangalore frowned, feeling her worry spike. The sound of distant gunfire hadn’t leveled off yet; there was enough time to talk before they had to make their move in on the final squad.

“What?” Loba sounded distant.

“You. Are you feeling alright? You’ve been acting weird.”

Loba nodded, eyes not focused on Bangalore. Almost sluggishly she turned back towards the scene of the fight and crouched lower. Even from where she was standing at Loba’s side she could see her pupils dilate to pinpricks, yellow eyes seeming brighter than usual. Her frown deepened. Bangalore shot a glance over to Bloodhound, who was far too focused on their sonar gear to pay her any attention. A soft growl made her head whip back to Loba. Her manicured hands were flexing against her thighs, gun long discarded on the ground. Every now and then her nostrils flared.

“Lo,” Bangalore said then winced, internally cursing at herself for slipping the nickname.

A frustrated sigh, “You are messing with my concentration.”

“You do realize Bloodhound is the scout of this team, right?”

“So?” Loba muttered.

Gritting her teeth, Bangalore dropped next to her, close to her ear.

“So stop sniffing the team out.”

Loba snorted, “Annie, I’m a carnivore. I can’t help the fact that the smell of blood makes me hungry. This fight is like waving a platter of food in front of a starving man’s nose.”

“Can you at least not make it noticeable? You make this face-”

“I do _not_ make a face!”

“Then why are you-”

“Felagi fighters, the fight is over.” Bloodhound’s altered voice cut in through the arguing. Both women stood up to look at their third teammate as they sent off a sonar in the direction of the building the fight had taken place in. Bloodhound stood still for a moment, then nodded their head.

“Three remaining. It is best ve move as they heal.”

Bangalore nodded, hefting her spitfire up as she took a step forward, “I’ll lead. Hope you have digital threats ready.”

It was empty words; Bloodhound had their odd ‘gift’ and Loba had inhuman sight. Bangalore slid down the hill towards the large bunker, frowning as she realized she would be the only one impaired in the fight. Her smoke gave too big of an advantage to pass up, though. She ran up to the doors with her smoke arm braced and ready to fire off a canister. 

“Going in!” She shouted into comms.

A distinct pop signaled her entry, before a blanket of smoke exploded around her. Bangalore tried not to breathe in the grey vapor, tried not to think about which one of her teammates let out an animalistic cry as they rushed in with her. She circled the entryway, facing the short hall that led into the grander one. One more pop and smoke flooded it, shrouding the distinct form of Gibraltar. A bullet flew past her head, a Wingman shot by the sound of it, but as she raised her spitfire a red haze pierced through the smoke, Bloodhound flying into the fight, tomahawk in hand. A smirk pulled across her lips; she loved their eagerness.

The sound of gunfire echoed through the bunker once more. Bangalore ducked behind a door and shot into the smoke at whatever shadow she could see, using Bloodhound’s haze as an indicator of where not to shoot. She knew some of her bullets hit Gibraltar— his large frame was hard to miss— and some hit a smaller teammate that she couldn’t identify. Bangalore leaned back into her cover and ejected her empty magazine, grunting softly to herself as she reloaded the spitfire. Nowhere in the smoke could she see the third teammate or Loba and that was beginning to worry her. Taking a 1v1 could easily reduce their odds.

A crack snapped into her ear, louder than anything she had heard before, and she felt her shields not crack so much as shatter, blood spilling out of her side where the impact of the bullet had torn her skin. A gasp expelled from punctured lungs. Bangalore fell to her knees. Kraber.

“Surprise,” A cool voice said, eerily loud even in the deafening gunfire and shouting.

Bangalore looked to the side, “Wraith?”

She shrugged at her, raising her wingman as white eyes went back to blue, “Should have been more alert, sergeant.”

Gritting her teeth, Bangalore tried reaching for her p2020. It was pathetic; her arm barely moved fast enough for it to be called an ‘attempt’. Her fingers brushed against the grip when a bullet struck the wall next to her. So that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Taunting her as she died. Bangalore snarled, raising her pistol so she could at least be sent back to the respawn vats with some dignity.

A wet gurgle made her freeze.

Bangalore lifted her head.

It was the distinct sound of the aftermath of a neck shot, so when her eyes laid themselves upon Wraith’s still form she expected her to have a hand to her throat, trying to cover the bleeding hole. Only to see several gaping holes where Wraith’s throat had once been, pooling blood bubbling as Wraith tried to breathe, her face twisted with horror and agony as she fell back.

Above her, Loba stood staring at her hand, slicked with red and bits of flesh hanging from her nails.

“Lo?!”

Loba glanced towards Bangalore. She raised the Mozambique in her other hand and shrugged, “I ran out of ammo.”

She tossed it over her shoulder. A few steps closer and she was at her side, kneeling down.

“Are you okay?”

Bangalore felt something push into her hand. She looked down. A syringe. She glanced back to Wraith, but her death box was already constructing itself around her body, pacemaker activated.

“Fine,” she knew her heart was still pounding and she knew that Loba could hear it. If she thought anything of it, though, then Loba didn’t show it.

“You can thank me later, Annie.” Loba patted her cheek, unintentionally smearing blood on her skin. Her hand stilled. Pupils dilated and the yellow in her eyes seemed to glow.

Bangalore shifted uncomfortably, “If you lick it off I will throw up.”

That snapped Loba out of whatever stupor she was in, “What? Afraid of a little grooming?”

Bangalore pressed the syringe to her chest, hissing as the needle pierced her and began to heal her wounds, “You need to go for a run after this, Wolfy.”

A roll of yellow eyes, “I told you not to call me that. C’mon, we have a fight to win.”

Bangalore accepted the outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled up effortlessly. Her shields were still cracked, but if she played it safe she could still be a formidable opponent. Even though the time frame between her getting shot and Loba rescuing her was a minute long, the fight was already dying down and she didn’t have the first clue of who was winning. She trusted Bloodhound to be capable on their own, but a 2v1 was difficult for anybody.

“Let’s go, then.” 

—

It had taken a few days to return from the arena, a few days for all the after parties and events to conclude, and a full week to actually get back to Loba’s apartment. Even then, none of the energy from winning had fled Loba-- and truthfully, it didn’t leave Bangalore either. Somewhere between first joining the games and where she was now, Bangalore found herself celebrating her wins more often. They weren’t a means to end like they used to be; they were an accomplishment. Every time she got to walk on a red carpet at a rewards event was a moment to be proud of, even if she was booed at more often than not.

That high led them both to the bedroom, where Loba kissed away the bruises and ran her tongue along areas that needed a different kind of attention. Every little pause between Bangalore’s moans were punctured with praise to her skill and performance, praises on her looks— hell, anything Loba could think of. By the time she had reached her end, stars danced in front of her eyes and she hardly noticed when the soft fluttering of lips against her neck became the hardness of teeth.

“I want you to be mine,” Loba muttered into her neck. 

Bangalore panted, blowing strands of Loba’s curly hair away from her face. She wanted to talk, but all she could bring herself to do was sluggishly roll over so Loba was on the mattress and Bangalore hung over her. Toned arms wrapped around her back, Loba’s mouth going back to her neck. She felt the warm brush of her tongue.

“And I want to make you scream,” Bangalore growled in her ear.

Loba rumbled deep in her throat.

Bangalore swept her hand down Loba’s bare stomach, reaching further until her middle finger brushed against a patch of well-maintained curls. The pad of her finger pressed in, finding the swollen clit easily and circling around it. The low rumble quickly dissolved into a soft whine. God she loved it when Loba made those noises. It affected her in ways she didn’t know she could be.

“Annie,” Loba mumbled, “I want you to be mine.” Her voice had a desperate edge.

“Do you?” Bangalore muttered. She winced internally. She needed to work on her dirty talk.

Loba pressed her mouth to her neck, rasped out a moan, nodded frantically. Her nails pressed into her back as she pulled her closer and licked the junction between her neck and shoulder with that much more fervor.

Bangalore chuckled lowly, “I’m yours, Loba.” Her fingers moved more firmly. She felt Loba tense against her, a moan leaving her lips cutting itself short. There was no time to think about it before the agonizing and all-too-familiar sting of her flesh being punctured exploded through her neck. Claws dug into her back and brought her even closer, her pained cry choking itself as teeth pressed deeper into her neck. Her hands moved wildly, trying to push herself away from Loba and trying to remove the claws from her back. One brush across Loba’s knuckles immediately relaxed them and instead she stroked her fingers down Bangalore’s spine.

_Squelch!_

Loba pulled away from her neck. Bangalore felt her skin mesh together, intrusions no longer keeping her flesh apart. Stars danced in her eyes and her arms quaked, holding her a second more before she collapsed onto Loba. A soft rumble vibrated from Loba’s chest. A sandpaper tongue ran itself along the wound, lapping up the blood that was steadily dripping from the punctures.

“Lo?” Bangalore rasped out. She didn’t know whether to stay in Loba’s arms or try to get away from her. Her neck felt like it was on fire, the muscles around it steadily throbbing in time with her heart. 

“Mhm?” Loba sounded distant, reminiscent of when they were scouting out the last fight.

“You… bit me.”

“I did.”

Betrayal dropped like a ball of lead in her stomach. Loba bit her and she sounded casual about it. Like it was nothing more than leaving a hickey on her skin. For a few moments Loba licking her neck was the only sound that dominated the room, Why did she have to hate explaining things?

“Why?”

“You’re my mate.”

Loba pulled away from her neck, the lower half of her face smeared with blood. She looked at her lovingly. Bangalore wasn’t sure if she had ever seen Loba this happy.

“And it’s about time other people know that you belong to Loba Andrade.”

Bangalore winced, hand flying towards her neck to apply pressure on the wound. Loba rumbled, pushing her head into her hand and nudging it away so she could continue lapping at the bite. The texture of her tongue made it hurt worse, but Bangalore didn’t have the strength to push her away. A part of her was afraid: did Loba transmit lycanthropy? Another part was only concerned with why Loba was so adamant on licking away her blood, as if she were taste testing her. She had suffered bites before when Loba became too excited during sex, but none this big. None this deep.

It was only when the blood flow ebbed off that Loba stopped lapping, nuzzling her neck, shoulder, side of her face; wherever she could reach. Every now and then she brushed soft kisses against her cheek, but Bangalore couldn’t bring herself to return the favor. Her mind swarmed with thoughts.

“Property of Loba Andrade? Is that what it means?” Bangalore asked. Words were coming easier to her, though her body felt exhausted. Her adrenaline was fleeting at last.

Loba let out a small laugh, “You could say that.”

Bangalore frowned.

_I want you to be mine._

Apparently they had two different ideas when it came to the meaning of that.

—

Bangalore hated traveling. She hated space travel even more. 

It was the dull, mind-numbing ‘days’ that dragged on and on that made her loathe it so. Each season where they had to switch to another arena were the bane of her existence, and this was no different. Even if they were on Loba’s all-too-expensive personal yacht with a gym, movie theatre, and whatever other amenities rich people could afford. Loba had insisted on her coming back to Olympus with her during the seasonal hiatus, and truthfully Bangalore was too much of a push-over to argue about it. Loba had given her those big eyes, batted her baby browns, and next thing Bangalore knew she was getting on a ship and throwing up in the toilet for the next three hours after they breached the atmosphere at way-too-fucking-fast G.

Loba was ecstatic though— whatever that seemed to entail for someone so controlled of her emotions— and that was more than enough for Bangalore to feel comfortable with her decision. They shared the bed, spent time in the theatre, and worked out together to pass the time during the month long trip, and when Bangalore’s feet finally touched soil again she almost dropped to the floor and kissed it. Loba pulled her along though, taking her straight to a professional transport waiting for them and shushing away any protests with a kiss. Bangalore spent the majority of the trip staring out into the city— correction, cities— below. All on their own floating isles, with even more urbanization below them on the surface of Olympus. When the transport set them down on one of those floating half-spheres she could hardly believe they were thousands of feet in the air.

“Are you ready for this, Annie?” Loba said, stepping out of the car and throwing her braids over her shoulder. “You get to live in my world for a little bit.”

Bangalore huffed, grabbing her luggage out of the trunk of the transport and gently declining the driver’s help.

“Yeah, rich snobs. Can’t wait.”

Loba rolled her eyes, “Not all of them. Jaime is pleasantly poor.”

“I didn’t even know that could be a sentence.”

“Jaime’s words. Not mine.” 

She dragged Bangalore to the large high-rise in front of them, taking her through a lobby that might have well been a penthouse in itself for how well-decorated it was, and finally took her on a V.I.P express elevator to the top, practically bouncing on her heels the entire way. As soon as the doors closed Loba nuzzled the crook of her neck enthusiastically. Bangalore winced, her bite mark throbbing in protest. When Loba pulled away, she grabbed onto her collar and pulled it down, revealing the scarred mark.

“I’m so happy you decided to come with me,” Yellow eyes flicked to hers. They were eye-to-eye as a result of Loba deciding to wear her pumps today.

Bangalore couldn’t help but smile at the warmth in Loba’s expression, “Thanks for the invite, Lo.”

“We’re going to have an amazing time.”

The elevator dinged and opened up. Loba stepped out and Bangalore had to catch herself before she tripped on the raised threshold between the elevator and room. Even then, she found herself stopping in her tracks, mouth agape as she looked up at the swaths of green vines covering the skylight’s above. A green house. The elevator led to a greenhouse. What in the name of rich-?

“You coming?” 

Bangalore looked at Loba, who was expectantly standing by a grand, white door with gold trimming on it. Of course Loba would live here. She swallowed and tried not to make a comment about whether or not the gold was real. Knowing Loba, it probably was.

Instead, she settled on, “You breed animals here to hunt?”

Loba laughed, “I let loose a single hummingbird to stimulate my instincts.”

Bangalore couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. Then again, she was talking to the same person that spent an entire day hunting down a mouse she had found in the utility room. It wouldn’t shock her.

They entered the house (Penthouse? Apartment? Warehouse?) and Bangalore had to stop and stare at the open space around her. Not even Loba’s Solace apartment was this big. It was a large entryway, leading straight into a larger living room that curved into a circle, a desk in front of the windows overlooking the city below. Bangalore followed Loba into the center of the living room, heels echoing on the hardwood floor with each step. She turned to the side and saw a kitchen larger than the Solace apartment’s living room. Minimally scattered around the area were glass display cases, velvet busts, imported-wood racks. Each displayed a different item; not a single one empty.

“Your portfolio?” Bangalore asked. She set the bags down and shook out her shoulder. Loba smirked, tossing a braid over her shoulder.

“My family’s fortune. All returned to their rightful place.” Loba turned to her, a hand on her hip,“Like what you see? Whatever you want is yours.”

Bangalore stared hard at a particularly rare model of a pistol, but she didn’t rise to the offer.

“Pass.”

A smooth chuckle. Loba sauntered over and pulled her collar down again, baring her mark to the world, “Welcome to being part of the fortune, Annie. The best treasure of them all.”

Bangalore feigned a smile.

‘Fortune?’ She glanced at a jeweled necklace sitting on a bust. Apparently, they were on the same standing.

“Come, I’ll show you around,” Loba clapped her hands together and grabbed onto her wrist, dragging her off to a maze of hallways. She showed her room after room and they were either uncomfortably bare or filled with lavish things Bangalore could never dream of owning. Of course, their last stop was the bedroom, a relatively simple room that was as large as a standard living area and had an elevated deck on which the king-sized bed sat on. It was immaculately clean, and the high-rise ceiling had acoustics that gave Bangalore the feeling that Loba wanted to put them to the test. Aside from a photograph on a simple black nightstand, the room was bare of any decoration.

“Do you like it?” Loba said. She took a seat on the bed and pulled her heels off with a sigh, flexing her feet. Bangalore nodded curtly and sat next to her. Toned arms looped themselves around her neck and Loba brought her down onto the bed, nibbling playfully at her ear. Bangalore laughed, pushing her away.

“No expenses spared, huh?” Bangalore said.

Loba grinned, “of course not.” 

She nuzzled her and Bangalore couldn’t help another laugh, brushing a hand across her head.

“You’ve been really affectionate lately, Lo.”

“Have I?” Loba purred out, “Am I violating the roommate protocol?”

“Just wondering if you're going into heat again.”

Loba tsked, rolling her eyes and swatting at her shoulder, “ _Vai su fudê_.”

For a while they laid there, content in the silence. Bangalore felt herself drifting off to the sound of Loba’s breathing; the hand petting her head wasn’t helping much either. She was on the cusp of consciousness when Loba spoke up again, rousing her from the odd half-dream she had been in.

“There’s a gala tomorrow. For fashion. I want you to come.”

Bangalore cracked open an eye, “Hm?”

“My friends will be there, the ones I trust,” Loba shuffled up so she was eye to eye with Bangalore. She tilted her head forward and closed the distance so their noses brushed together, her lips fluttering against hers.

“Meet them, Annie.”

A frown set on her face. Gala, that sounded fancy. Aside from the after-parties she attended after the games, Bangalore wasn’t much for fancy celebration. There was too much public interaction involved, and she had no doubt she would stick out like a sour thumb amongst well-dressed well-kept people. If Loba was there though, then perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad. She highly doubted she would let anyone get away with even as much as a side-eyed look her way. Besides, that hopeful expression on Loba’s face was too much to bear, almost a carbon copy of the one she gave her when she asked her to come to Olympus in the first place.

Letting out a grand yawn, Bangalore nodded curtly, “Yep.”

Loba smiled, closing the distance to kiss her softly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

—

Bangalore wasn’t one for fancy parties. Between the stuffy people, stuffy environment, and stuffy clothing, she never felt more out of element than when attending something with a security detail and overpriced appetizers. She sighed, pulling at her collar again, only for clawed hands to quickly reach out and bat hers away, fixing it for her. Frustratingly, Loba pulled her collar back so her mark was exposed ever so slightly.

“Stop fidgeting with it, Ann, it looks fine as it is.”

“I feel like I can’t breath.”

“Hm? And how do you think I feel with all this perfume and cologne in the air?” Loba said, raising an eyebrow. 

It was a joke, but Anita couldn’t even bring herself to smile at it. Maybe her eyes were too busy taking in the cleavage Loba showed off, maybe it was because she never hated her life more than now. Either way, Loba took notice and sighed, dropping her hands away from her.

“You can go home, Annie.”

“I made a promise that I intend to keep.”

A couple passed by them, laughing loudly, the woman clutching onto the man’s arm as they went through the double doors leading to the event room. Bangalore couldn’t help but cringe at the sight, reminded that all the annoyance she was feeling was the result of being in the hallway. She didn’t want to imagine what it would be like inside.

“You want to hold on my arm and laugh like a hyena, too?” Bangalore said, trying to break the tension.

Loba smiled, “You have no money that I’m trying to get at. It would be the other way around.”

Bangalore rolled her eyes, “I have money. You just won’t let me spend it.”

“On bills,” Loba corrected. She reached out to adjust her collar again, “Anything else is free game. You’re just frugal.”

Cloth pulled down her shoulder, baring her mark. A satisfied-smile pulled at Loba’s red-painted lips.

“Beautiful,” she purred.

Of course, it was only when Loba said something that Bangalore started to feel self-conscious, looking down at her outfit. It was the nicest thing she had in her wardrobe; a sleek black tuxedo with a black dress shirt and tie underneath. When compared to everyone else, though, it was almost simple. Even Loba had outdone it in a black halter dress with gold accents lining the seams and absolutely nothing left to the imagination when it came to her chest or even the rest of her body considering how form-fitting it was. The dress went down to her ankles, and she had chosen strapped heels; ones that Loba had informed Anita she would take off before the end of the night. It was so simple, but in a good way. Tastefully. Nothing like Bangalore’s ‘got this for cheap off a website’ look.

Not for the first time, Bangalore realized how out of place she was compared to Loba.

“Coming?” Loba held out her hand, arching an eyebrow. Bangalore almost shuddered. She was laying it on thick tonight, doing everything she knew set Bangalore off. She reached out to take her hand, ready to lead her to the event when instead Loba held on tightly and started to drag her along. She stumbled over thick carpet and tight dress shoes, almost blurting out for Loba to slow down when she opened the door and her eyes were assaulted with bright lights. It was packed in the event center, Loba barely able to squeeze them past the entrance. Media vultures prowled the white-carpeted floor, stopping celebrities and well-dressed people for photos, and security hovered nearby in case the paparazzi got too close. Unnecessary pillars connected with silk streamers lined the way to the catwalk at the very end of the room, flanking either side of the massive stage. Bangalore glanced nervously at Loba.

“Please don’t tell me you’re dragging me up there.”

Loba stopped, letting go of her hand and turning to her, “Later, perhaps, now we do what we rich-people call ‘mingling.’”

“I didn’t agree to interacting with people.”

“You did when you agreed to come with me to a public event, Annie.”

Bangalore sighed and Loba’s smirk fell away. A clawed hand rested itself on her cheek.

“You can go home anytime, Anita.”

Bangalore shook her head. No, she couldn’t. She made a promise.

“Ms. Andrade!”

Whatever tender moment they were having was swiftly crumbled by the loud, obnoxious voice coming from their side. Bangalore’s reaction was an immediate look of disdain, while Loba’s had been more of a possessive growl and her holding on a little tighter. An impossibly short man approached them, winged glasses shining in the overly-bright lights of the gala and bamboo-printed suit squeaking with every step. He was carrying something in his hands,but Bangalore couldn’t see what it was before he had already approached them.

“Ms. Andrade!” He repeated, inclining his head nervously, “An honor to meet you. I’m with the Muzzano Jewelry Company PR team. We’ve been trying to reach to you as to sponsor a product of ours during your next public appearance and-”

The PR Agent spoke at a mile a minute, but Loba kept her face cool and collected, even though Bangalore could see in her eyes that she was a little more than irritated. She knew about Loba’s never-ending offers of sponsorship; she was always surrounded by them during the awards ceremony for the games or during her interviews. Bangalore also knew, from more private conversations, that Loba hated all of them. No money was enough to sell out. Taking one look at the PR Agent, Bangalore assumed Loba didn’t respond for a reason.

“Charmed to meet,” Loba said after the PR Agent’s spew, but he was still going on, gesturing to the box and to the surrounding area. Yellow eyes glanced at her guiltily. Bangalore only shrugged: _what can you do?_ She was unfortunately used to being put on the sidelines when it came to being Loba’s plus one. Not a lot of people wanted to talk to the IMC soldier, but all scrambled to get a minute of Loba Andrade’s time. Loba always apologized afterward as if it were her fault.

She felt Loba wrap her hand in hers, squeezing gently. Her way of apologizing this time.

“Here, try it on!” 

Before either of them could react the PR Agent had slipped something on Loba’s other wrist, smiling nervously as he stepped back. While he may have expected a polite and insincere ‘wow’ from Loba— and Bangalore much expected the same- what they both didn’t expect was Loba’s sudden pained snarl, jumping back almost full foot and flinging the bracelet to the ground, smoke billowing from her blistering wrist. Now-elongated fangs were bared at the horrified PR Agent, but he was too busy scrambling for the bracelet to notice. Glowing yellow eyes zeroed in on the PR Agent’s neck and Loba lunged.

“Lo, no!”

Bangalore caught her around the waist, pulling her back into her arms and trying her best not to wince at the claws that dug into her shoulders. Loba stared furiously at her, the look in her eyes almost akin to the one Loba wore when she shifted back after a full moon— more wolf than human.

“Ms. Andrade, please! This is a prototype! A little care is in order!” The PR Agent exclaimed. With whatever little brain power he had, he saw it fit to hold out the bracelet again, leaving Loba to scramble away from Bangalore with another growl. At this point the eyes of the crowd were turning to them and Bangalore could see Loba retreat more into the mindset of the animal, fight or flight reaction activated at the silver bracelet. Bangalore lunged for the PR Agent, grabbing the bracelet out of his hand and holding it out of reach. She opened her mouth to scold him, only for a voice almost as obnoxious and loud as the PR Agent’s cut through the murmurs of the crowd.

“Now, now. Wouldn’t Muzzano’s get the hint after Ms. Andrade ignored the first twenty emails she received, or did they need a more _public_ demonstration of what my trend-setter friend thinks of them?”

Bangalore looked back. Behind her was perhaps the most overdressed person she had ever seen; a man wearing a peacock print tuxedo with a head full of white hair spiked into three separate points, and wearing shoes that looked like they had been made from prowler leather. The sight of it was an assault to her eyes, and for a moment Bangalore wondered if this was the supposed pinnacle of fashion in Olympus. Hairspikes, as Bangalore had now named him, smiled smugly, turning his attention to Loba, who had significantly brightened up at the sight of him, though she was still glancing nervously at the bracelet Bangalore held. 

“I-well-” The PR Agent stammered, but Hairspikes held up a hand, attention fully on Loba. When he spoke again it was in a different language and Loba’s posture changed, her eyes sparkling as she spoke back in the same language. Bangalore tried to pick out some words, some phrases that she might have heard Loba utter before, but she was lost as they continued in rapid speed, laughing a few times and even talking over each other in excitement. Little by little fangs receded back behind painted lips and yellow eyes lost their glow. Bangalore stood there awkwardly, waiting to be included in the conversation, but it never came. A sudden brush of contact on her hand made her recoil, only to catch the PR Agent glaring at her as he stuffed the bracelet back in its box and briskly walked away from them. With him gone, she caught the crowd staring at her oddly. A blush spread across her nose. She glanced back at Loba and Hairspikes in an attempt to ignore the prying eyes.

“-Anita-”

Bangalore perked up at the mention of her name, but the conversation had already moved on from that point. Every now and then either Loba or Hairspikes would glance at her, but they continued on as if she wasn’t there.

_I helped too?_

Bangalore clenched her fist and sighed.

“Anita, this is one of my friends ‘in the know’, if you will.” Loba turned to her and smirked, an action mirrored by Hairspikes. Sleazier when he did it.

Loba moved close to her, touching almost chest-to-chest, her hand brushed along her collar, then pulled it down from where it had previously settled back into place. Bangalore winced at the dull pain that throbbed through the scar. Even a month later it was still tender to the touch.

“Wow,” Hairspikes said, resting a hand on his chin, “Someone bearing your mark. Never thought I’d see that day.”

Bangalore shifted uncomfortably while Loba beamed with pride.

“Doesn’t it suit her? ‘Property of Loba Andrade’, that’s what you called it, Annie?”

She nodded slowly.

“So when does she go wolfy like you?” Hairspikes laughed.

Blood froze in Bangalore’s veins. Her eyes darted towards Loba, hoping to see the same look of horror, but instead Loba flashed a fanged-filled grin and laughed, shaking her head. No answer came from her, and not for the first time Bangalore found herself pressing her palm onto her mark and worrying.

“Where are the others? Near the bar, I’m assuming,” Loba said.

“You already know,” he answered with a wink.

Loba laughed again and looped her arm around Bangalore’s, leaning into her. She gently nuzzled along her neck.

“Let’s go meet them, shall we? I’d rather not have another ‘incident’ occur.”

Bangalore nodded hesitantly, glancing at Loba’s wrist, which hung limply at her side. The skin was red and irritated, several blisters dotting the skin in the rough shape of the bracelet. She winced in sympathy.

“Please, allow me to lead the way, Ms. Andrade and… Anita,” Hairspikes said, sauntering off into the crowd. Bangalore rolled her eyes at the way her name was reluctantly added on. She hoped Loba’s other friends wouldn’t be like Hairspikes.

“Are you okay?” Bangalore quietly asked.

Loba shrugged her shoulders, gently unhooking her arm from hers, “I’ll be fine, not the first time I’ve been burned with silver-- and with how pushy jewelry PR Agents seem to be, I doubt it’ll be the last.”

“If anyone tries it again I’ll break their arm.”

Loba laughed and shook her head, hand affectionately patting Bangalore’s chest, “My valiant protector! What would I do without you?” she smiled before turning and heading in the direction Hairspikes had gone,

‘Rip that guy’s throat out,’ Bangalore thought. She wouldn’t dare say that aloud.

END PART 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended for the last chapter to be the final one, but honestly I have so many ideas for this little Au that I can't even be certain this two-parter will even be the last of it. We shall see though. As far as other Lobalore, I do have some other oneshots in the works, so keep an eye out for that


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loba's aversion to explaining things finally bites her in the ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for patiently waiting for this next part! Hope you all enjoy!

If she thought Loba being around Hairspikes was bad, it was nothing compared to when they met up with the group of overdressed, not-entirely-sober people sitting at one of the bar tables. Bangalore sat at the end of the booth, stirring her drink with its straw while the eccentric conversation continued on without her. Thankfully it was English this time, but even then with all the business terms and fashion lingo they were using it was practically another foreign language. In front of her a blonde, skinny woman with bright green lipstick and some odd mashup of a dress and pantsuit talked to Loba about whatever latest line she was coming out with. Bangalore didn’t feel fairly creative, so she simply dubbed her Blondie in her head, much like how the man beside her was ‘Mustache’ and the woman beside him was ‘Vain’.

Bangalore took a long sip of her drink, trying to listen in once more only to feel as lost as she felt before. Loba laughed at whatever was said and golden eyes turned to her, suddenly a little more attentive to her than they were before.

“Enjoying the drink, Annie? You’ve been in it this entire time.”

A couple snickers came from the table and Bangalore froze, biting back a swear. Of course she would call her out now. She set her drink down and didn’t offer the smile Loba was probably looking for.

“Once you guys stop talking fancy maybe I’ll join in.”

Blondie snorted, “We’re just talking business, ‘Annie’. Considering you bled for a major corporation, I thought you would know a few terms.”

Mustache burst out laughing while Vain and Hairspikes smirked. Bangalore rolled her eyes and sipped at her drink again, wishing she had ordered alcohol instead. A hand pressed to her thigh and squeezed it, claws digging into her skin ever so slightly.

“IMC’s military is separate from their business. Anita had better things to do, I’m certain.” Loba said, and her voice carried an edge that wiped the smile from everyone’s face.

Bangalore looked at Loba. Her face was carefully stoic and her golden eyes almost shone even in the bright light of the event room. It was like she was daring them to say anything bad about her. She almost hummed in appreciation; at least Loba remembered that she existed.

“So what did you do, then?” Blondie asked. There was a sneer to her voice that told Bangalore that she didn’t quite like being shut down by Loba.

“NCO. Weapons specialist.”

Vain rolled her eyes, “NCO? English?”

“I’m just talking business,” Bangalore smirked.

There was an uncomfortable tension that descended over the booth from that, and Bangalore wasn’t surprised when she felt Loba kick her ankle a moment later. She glanced at her through the corner of her eye and shrugged. Don’t dish what you can’t take. The next time the waiter passed she waved him over and ordered an old-fashioned, hoping she could drink away the night as the conversations started to amp up again.

“So, are you going to show the others what you showed me, Andrade?’ Hairspikes said, that sleazy tone in his voice again.

Pride laced every one of Loba’s words, “Of course, dear. Annie isn’t just my arm candy for the night— she’s my claim.”

Bangalore almost choked on her drink, looking to Loba and trying to show her confusion. Claim? Arm candy?

“Claim?” Blondie gasped, “Loba, you didn’t!”

“Oh, I did.” Loba smirked, reaching over and pulling Bangalore’s collar down for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, showing off that damned scar. Bangalore clenched her teeth, shrugging her shoulder away from her and pulling the cloth back over it. Her reaction seemingly went unnoticed as the group lit up with exclamation and bombarded Loba with question after question.

“So this is the one then? I thought it would never happen!”

“Aw, the she-wolf’s finally found her mate.”

“So you’ll bite her, but you still won’t bite me? Awww… don’t tell me you relieved estrus with her too.”

This time, Bangalore did choke on her drink, coughing and sputtering as an alarmed Loba pounded her back. Bangalore didn’t fail to notice Loba’s make-up dusted cheeks were tinged with a blush and how even she seemed a little put-off by the question. She glared as the last of the coughs leveled off; Who is this guy? Loba looked away from her and she smiled at Mustache, the one who asked in the first place.

“I told you, I’m not a vector. If you want to become Lycanthropic, find someone else to do it.”

“And the last part is none of your business,” Bangalore growled out, wiping her mouth with a napkin. She threw it on the table and stepped out of the booth, “Lo, I think I’m ready to head home.”

There was a hurt look in her eyes, but Loba didn’t make any move to leave the booth, “Are you certain? The main event-” She stopped herself as if she remembered her words from before. Lobe offered her a gentle, genuine smile, one that cooled Bangalore’s temper slightly.

“If you say so. Meet you back home in an hour?” Golden eyes darted to the group sitting across from her, “Maybe two?”

Bangalore gave a quick nod, “Sure, have fun.” She barely regarded the group, “Nice meeting you.”

Without waiting for a goodbye she twisted on her heel and headed out of the bar, shoving the crowd out of her way as she made for the doors. Of course she wouldn’t come home with her. Why did she think otherwise? Bangalore snarled as she shoved a man out of her way, cutting a path down the hallway. Loba would find some other arm candy to show off, easily. Maybe even Mustache would fit the bill.

God, she hated high society.

—

Any hopes of having a serious conversation were dashed the moment Loba came stumbling into the bedroom, outfit messy and a look in her eyes that told Bangalore she was looking for something other than an argument. She tried not to recoil when Loba flung herself onto the bed, reaching out for her to grab a hold of her pajama shirt .

“Mate with me, Annie.”

Bangalore’s nose wrinkled in disgust, “Ugh, do you have to refer to it that way? Just say sex.”

Loba giggled, cheeks flushed dark as she crawled onto the bed and started pulling her hair down.

“What’s wrong, Annie? Are you afraid of the wolf?”

“I want to know who Mustache thinks he is saying shit like that to you.” Bangalore snapped, her patience worn thin from the events of the night. She didn’t want to start out so hostile, but Loba’s behavior wore on her already-short temper. A pang of regret shot through her at Loba’s surprised look. For a moment golden eyes seemed to sober up and Loba stopped messing with her hair, shifting back onto her bare feet, heels discarded at the foot of the bed already.

“Mustache? You mean Jacob?”

“Whatever his name is.”

Loba smiled softly at Bangalore, reaching a hand out to her cheek. Bangalore swiftly avoided it and Loba sighed.

“I dated him for a very short period of time, Annie. I’m over it; he’s not. There’s nothing more to it.”

Bangalore snorted at the implication, “I’m not concerned about you going back to him, I’m concerned about the way he talks to you. That was uncalled for and you know it was. How come he gets to poke fun at your wolfy stuff?”

“Well, at least you aren’t jealous.”

It took everything in her power for Bangalore not to roll her eyes, “Like I’d ever be jealous of a man.”

“That’s just his personality. My friends like to talk about my ‘wolfy’ stuff, and I like to indulge them. Nothing more.” Loba reached up to her ears, undoing the earrings hooked inside the delicate flesh.

“That’s not how you treat it with me,” Bangalore muttered.

Loba set the jewelry down on the night and pulled herself closer, wrapping her arms around her neck so she could nuzzle the side of her face. Lips close to her ear, she spoke in a soft tone that melted away all of Bangalore’s frustration.

“You, I want to be human for. Remember that, Annie.”

Bangalore frowned.

“I love both sides of you though.”

Loba let out a smooth chuckle, kissing the side of her neck as she pulled away and undressed herself. Bangalore swallowed at the sight of smooth, brown skin. She wanted nothing more to reach out and slide her hands across it, to pull Loba close and kiss every inch of her. Loba flipped her hair from one side to the other, looking over her shoulder with heated eyes.

“Love is a strong word.”

‘One you haven’t used yet.” Bangalore thought to herself, then dismissed it. She hadn’t said the words either— she has no room to complain. 

Loba rolled over onto her hands and knees, crawling across the bed to hang over Bangalore. She nearly laughed at the way Loba unceremoniously plopped herself down on her stomach, stretching out fully and lightly kneading at the pillow above her head. A content sigh left Loba’s lips, turning into a soft rumble when she buried her face into the side of Bangalore’s neck. Resting a hand on her head, Bangalore almost frowned at how warm she was. She hoped she wouldn’t complain about Bangalore not drawing the covers over her.

“Annie… blankets…” Loba whined out, already sounding half-asleep.

Of course. Sighing, Bangalore reached for the comforter and drew it over Loba’s head. Her head worked at a thousand mile pace, going over every topic she wanted to discuss while Loba slowly drifted off in her arms. She scrunched her eyes shut and sighed. There was no way she was getting through her tonight anyway with the inebriation; she would have to wait until tomorrow to have a conversation.

Hopefully Loba would be in the mood to explain for once. 

—

The morning after was a blur of sex and euphoria, Loba having practically jumped Bangalore the moment she opened her eyes. Whatever tension she felt the night before bled off with each roll of hips against hers and each soft moan drifting into her ear. By the time they finished she hardly remembered what she was supposed to talk about— all she could think about was food for her cramping stomach. She entered the kitchen, Loba right on her heels, and opened the fridge and searched through it, settling on bacon after a moment of thought. Loba’s expectant eyes watching her told her that making the whole bag was the way to go.

“Lo, listen-” Bangalore smacked the oven closed, “About last night-”

“Oh, please don’t tell me I said something stupid. I barely remember getting home last night.” Loba said, sighing into her coffee cup.

Bangalore pursed her lips, “Nothing I recall. Look, I want to talk about somethings’ with you. Namely about this:”

She pressed a hand to her mark, wincing at the pulse of pain that spread through it. Loba set her eyes on it, her expression unreadable.

“Hm?”

“I-” Bangalore paused, “what does it mean?”

Loba rolled her eyes, “I thought we went over this already. It’s my claim on you.”

“I know, but what does it really mean? I don’t see your friends carrying around marks.” Bangalore tried to press Loba. Frustration rose within her at the developing smirk.

“They aren’t worthy of it. No one is as marvelous as you, my dear.”

“Lo-”

The oven beeped, startling Bangalore. The smell of cooked meat made her stomach growl and she wasted no time pulling the baking sheet out of the oven and plating the food, giving one to Loba. Loba led her to the grand dining room attached to the kitchen and sat on a chair that was far too expensive for it to be as uncomfortable as it was. Not for the first time, she wished was back in the apartment, away from Olympus. She wanted to press Loba more, to squeeze out the answers she had been wanting for weeks now, but the bacon called to her and instead she found herself devouring it without so much as a word to Loba. Her stomach felt like a bottomless pit— she didn’t remember if she ate at all last night.

“Jaime’s coming over in ten minutes,” Loba said, setting her phone down.

Bangalore looked up from her slice of bacon, “Mphf?”

“He wants to say hi. I trust him.” Loba finished off her plate and eyed Bangalore’s, “Are we in an eating contest I was unaware of? You usually take your time.”

Swallowing her food, Bangalore pushed her plate away, “Guess going to bed without dinner last night was a bad idea.”

“Why would you have-”

A knocked on the door silenced Loba. A suspicious look spread across her face, nose scrunching as she sniffed the air.

“He’s early.” Loba muttered.

“Can you sniff out an orange? Unlike you, I don’t like having meat as my breakfast.”

Loba rolled her eyes, standing from her chair and heading out of the dining room to answer the door. “I’m not a dog, Annie.”

Sighing, Bangalore rested her head on her palm and waited for the door to be answered, resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t be getting answers anytime soon. It was like the universe was on Loba’s side when it came to having serious conversations. Almost like she planned it. Bangalore shook off the idea. No, that was ridiculous. It was nothing but coincidence.

The sound of exclaiming voices and a door closing echoed from the other room. For a while she waited for Loba to bring Jaime in to introduce them, but after several minutes a frown pulled at her lips. Forgotten again? Sighing, Bangalore stood and entered the central living room, glancing at Loba and her odd blue-haired companion.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Whatever conversation they were having ceased and Loba turned around with a large grin. She practically skipped towards her, throwing her arms around her neck and gently raking her claws across her mark.

“And this is the ‘Annie’ you’ve heard so much about,”

Jaime smiled and nodded shyly, simply lifting a hand in greeting. Already, she liked him better than Loba’s other friends. He was quiet.

“And Annie, this is Jaime. You can thank him for setting up that little ‘meeting’ we all had almost two years ago.”

“Ah, so you were the one that found the facility?” Bangalore asked, choosing to skip the greeting for now.

Jaime nodded again, “All me. The plan wasn’t for her to blow it up though.” 

Bangalore chanced a laugh, remembered Loba’s recount of that story sometime ago. Emotions had gotten in the way of the objective, and instead of Revenant suddenly and mysteriously shutting down during a fight, they had the entirety of Skull Town sinking into the ocean and a very angry Loba standing on a rock. If only Bangalore knew what this woman would mean to her during that time; she might have withheld some of her insults in the resulting interviews. 

“Yes, yes, we all know I fucked up,” Loba waved off the story, “Now look at this, Jaime.” Loba yanked down her shirt collar, showing off the bite. Jaime smiled again, somewhat confusingly, and clapped his hands twice.

“Very nice.”

Loba grinned, showing off sharp teeth.

“So what brings you here?” Bangalore changed the subject, swatting Loba off her so she could pull her shirt back up. 

Jaime shrugged his shoulders, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Loba, so I thought I’d stop by; say hello to the old dog.”

Bangalore glanced at Loba, half-expecting an insulted look on her face, but instead she was smiling with a carefully-raised eyebrow. It took Bangalore a moment to realize Jaime was walking past them, making a beeline straight for the computer setup near the windows. He hugged the center monitor, patting its side. Loba let out a small laugh, snaking her arms around her waist and nuzzling her cheek into the crook of her neck.

“Annie, don’t tell me you thought he was referring to me.”

Bangalore swallowed, noting the way her claws pressed into her stomach ever so slightly.

“Uh… No.”

“Good.”

—

For the next week Bangalore allowed herself to accumulate more to the vapid and draining environment of the Olympus high-society. Loba dragged her to and from floating islands, showing off places she grew up in, stores she stole from, and her favorite butcheries amongst the expensive restaurants and diners. It was exhausting to say the least; Bangalore wasn’t a social person by far, and being around the crowds of snobs and elites wore her thin. Even worse now, was Loba’s incessant begging that Bangalore join her for a dinner with the same friends they had met at the Gala.

“It was a bad first impression, Annie. They were all drunk—”

“You know, soldiers in the IMC tended to show their true colors when they hit the drink. You sure that’s not the same for your friends?”

Loba rolled her eyes, dropping her hands from their messing of her braids. Loba turned around in her seat, eyebrow already arched.

“You can’t give them a chance?”

“I gave them a chance, Lo. They ruined it.” The last thing Bangalore wanted was to be alone with Loba’s friends for another second if she didn’t have to. She knew their type and it doesn’t take a second meeting to confirm who they were. The way they looked down at her and, hell, the way they looked down on Loba told her nothing good of these people. Yet, when Loba’s lips dropped into a frown and her shoulders slumped, she found her resolve shaking.

“Look, I know they can be crass.”

“That’s the rich word for rude?”

Loba rolled her eyes, “Let me finish. I know they can be crass, but I talked to them about it when you left. They promised they would behave next time. Look, Annie, we don’t have long until the next games; I would like to see them again before we need to go back for training.”

“Then you can see them yourself, can’t you? You’re a big girl, and you could use the alone time. I feel like you’ve been attached to my hip since we got here.” Bangalore said, handing Loba a bobby pin when she gestured for it. 

“Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my mate?” Loba said.

Bangalore sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Of course she would miss the point about this, “It’s not about spending time with me, it’s about—”

A knock on the bathroom door stopped both of them. Loba’s lip pulled up for a split-second, a soft growl escaping, until she seemed to remember herself and instead called out.

“Come in!”

The door opened up and Jaime peeked his head in. His blue eyes wandered towards Bangalore and the already nervous expression on his face worsened.

“Um, sorry to bother. I was going to head out now and wanted to know if you were coming along?” Jaime asked.

Loba offered him a soft smile, yellow eyes glancing towards Bangalore: We aren’t done talking about this.

“Anita still needs to get ready here-”

“I do?”

“Just go over now and we’ll meet up, handsome.”

A bright blush spread across Jaime’s cheeks as he nodded, ducking out of the doorway. The door clicked shut. The bathroom was silent for all but a second before Loba piped up again.

“Annie, give them another chance. For me, please.”

She flashed her this look that Bangalore swore shot straight through her soul. It was all pouty lips, watery eyes, and even a soft whine drifting from her. Bangalore felt her resolve break, arms falling to her sides as she let out a loud sigh.

“One last chance. That’s it.”

Loba’s expression brightened into a grin, “I knew you would come around.”

“That’s because you forced me to.”

“Come on, Annie,” Loba curled a finger underneath her chin, bringing Bangalore close. With painted lips inches away from hers, Bangalore felt her face go hot, “I need to show off my mate just a little more.”

“Am I nothing but a possession to you?”

Loba let out a low rumble, nuzzling her cheeks to hers, “The best of them all.”

Bangalore clenched her fist.

—

At the very least the restaurant was decorated like someplace Bangalore would go to back in the IMC days. Simple booths, low lighting, and a bare in the center of it all. Still, as she was given a menu and served drinks the environment felt just as fake as the rest of high-society Olympus. It was all a show, an appeal to the tourist ‘commoners’. It made her sneer as she drank from a whiskey glass that was chilled against her lips, listening to Loba excitedly talk to her friends. Vain, Hairspikes, and Blondie sat across from them, Jaime beside Loba and Mustache unfortunately having taken his seat right next to her. Why he didn’t take the open seat on the other side of the table, Bangalore didn’t know. Maybe he was trying to make a point.

“Annie, tell them.”

Bangalore snapped out of her thoughts, looking at Loba’s expectant face. She glanced around and saw all eyes were on her, either mirroring Loba’s expression or carrying a smug look. 

“Tell them-?”

“About how it felt.” Loba grinned, showing off sharp teeth. Bangalore felt a pang shoot through her shoulder at the painful memory of being bitten. Fingers touched her shirt, right where the scar sat beneath. This was personal, wasn’t it? She briefly recalled Loba describing it as intimate once. No, it wasn’t right to share. She scoffed and took a sip of her whiskey again.

“I’d rather not-”

“Oh come on,” Mustache’s voice rang loud in her ear, “You really couldn’t be bothered to show any appreciation for an honor like that? What do you see in this one, Loba?”

Bangalore slammed her drink onto the table, “Excuse me?!”

“Jacob, Anita, knock it off!”

Both looked to Loba . She was baring her teeth and yellow eyes seemed to flash a little brighter. Inhaling deeply, Bangalore killed the rest of her drink and looked away from Mustache, though she could feel his gaze burning into the side of her head.

“Anyway!” Vain said cheerfully, clapping her hands, “Loba, why don’t you tell us about that display in your last game. Ripping out someone's throat with those killer claws was quite a controversial move.”

Loba pursed her lip, rolling her glass in her hand. Bangalore coughed softly into her sleeve. Loba had come up to her about that after the games, with a guilty look and a somewhat nervous grin. It turned out, the Mozambique did still have ammo; she had just lost control. ‘Wraith was lucky it was my nails, not my teeth’, Loba had said. Bangalore almost shuddered at the imagery if Loba didn’t reign herself in in time.

Vain stared expectantly. Loba coughed.

“I don’t typically scour forums for criticisms of my methods in the games; that’s a headache.” Loba said.

Vain laughed, prissy and insincere, “We all know you were showing off a bit of the wolf, no need to dodge the question.”

Blondie leaned into the table, looking back and forth before whispering:

“It’s not like we’re the media.”

The entire table erupted into laughter, save for Bangalore. Truthfully, she didn’t find anything amusing about that snotty statement, though at the very least Loba was smiling, if albeit politely. A waiter passed by the table, gathering glasses and taking orders for new drinks. It took everything in Bangalore’s power to keep from asking when the food would be out. She wanted this dinner to be over already.

“I guess the wolf didn’t like seeing her mate being shot at,” Loba hummed.

Hairspikes grinned, “Ms. Andrade, always the protector. Where was that energy that time I was being ribbed by that journalist?”

Loba rolled her eyes, “Never letting that one go.”

Vain and Blondie laughed, the latter leaning into Hairspikes a little. His grin widened and he pushed back into her, making eye contact with Bangalore.

“I’m sure you’ve had to fight off many journalists for Ms.Andrade, haven’t you, Anita?”

Bangalore scrunched her nose. She hated the way her name rolled off his tongue. He made it sound ugly and Bangalore knew it was purposeful, because Loba had the same accent and when she said her name it was full of love and warmth. He was doing it intentionally.

“Loba handles herself just fine.”

“Really, no barking at them to go away?” Blondie said.

The group laughed. Loba politely smiled and sipped from her drink, nudging Jaime with her elbow.

“Speak up, Jamie, we haven’t heard from you.”

Jaime looked up from his handheld, slightly confused until he saw everyone staring at him. He flushed red and put the handheld back in his pocket, clasping his hands in front of him.

“I-I’m sure Loba doesn’t really bark at people. Though, when she’s in Lycan form she does it at trees… ehm… right before biting them.”

Loba lightly hit his shoulder, “Hey now, we promised not to speak about that.” 

Jaime smiled and shrugged, “Sor-”

“Oh, this one we gotta hear now. Jaime, do tell!” Vain purred, leaning onto clasped hands. 

Loba shot her a look, then one to Jaime, “Jaime, don’t tell. I’ll kill you.”

Jaime looked between the two women, shrinking down in his seat. His hand itched towards his handheld and Bangalore couldn’t up but sigh at the sight of it. Now they had to drag him into their jesting? At least Jaime was smart enough to want to avoid it. Bangalore frowned to herself; at least he had the decency to not want to speak bad about Loba.

“So how about another topic? Maybe about that question of mine you never answered?” Mustache asked, cutting through the prying chatter.

Bangalore bit the inside of her cheek, hand trembling as she brought it to her side, She clenched her fist once and took a deep breath. Not worth it. He was not worth it.

“Which one?” Loba raised a brow, a move normally only reserved for her. Guess Bangalore wasn’t as special as she thought.

“About your estrus? You ever relieved it with her? That would make me pretty sore considering how you reacted that one time.”

The air around the table immediately became tense. Even the perpetual grin Vain always seemed to wear had disappeared and she was glancing uncomfortably at Blondie. Bangalore trembled with barely concealed rage, fists clenched at her sides. Fuck it, he was worth it. Let’s see how much talking he could do with a busted-

A hand rested on her thigh, squeezing tightly. Bangalore glanced to the side. Loba’s face was carefully neutral, though for a brief moment their eyes met, Loba’s filled with warning: don’t you dare. Loba flashed a smile at Mustache, throwing a braid behind her shoulder.

“Bangalore treats me very well during that period. I trust her.”

Mustache let out a laugh, “Really now? So you didn’t trust me?”

“I-”

“And how well could she treat you? She doesn’t even have a dick, not like she could actually knock you up-”

A crack echoed through the diner, stopping the conversation of all the patrons. Mustache fell out of the booth and Bangalore landed on top of him, hand clenched into his dress shirt and fist held above her. She bared her teeth at him, pulling him closer. The stream of blood coming out of his nose wasn’t enough to satisfy the rage she felt boiling inside of her; she needed to see more.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

Bangalore slammed her fist across his jaw again, watching as blood and spit flew across the carpet. She heard the exclamation of Loba’s friends behind her. Hell, Loba’s voice might have been there as well, but all of it sounded distant to Bangalore. All she could focus on was beating the shit out of the weak excuse for a man in front of her.

“Talking to a woman like that!”

She punctuated the end of her sentence with another strike to the nose, feeling it break beneath her knuckles. A cry of pain came from Mustache, partially obscured by his own blood leaking into his mouth. Bangalore reeled back for another punch, but arms seized her from the shoulders and not so much as pulled her back as much threw her. She found herself lying face up on the booth, staring up at the low lit ceiling. A clawed hand reached from above her to grab onto the front of her shirt.

“Excuse us.” Loba muttered, scooting out of the booth and pulling Bangalore along with her. She tried to loosen the hold on her, but Loba’s grip was tight. She wouldn’t let go for anything. She was dragged down the dining area, stared at by patrons and waiters alike, until Loba pulled her out the back and tossed her onto the railing of the balcony. Bangalore barely caught herself, letting out an ‘oof’ as her stomach collided with the metal. Below her was nothing but concrete and imported plants. Best not to give Loba a reason to throw her over.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Loba shouted.

Bangalore gritted her teeth, turning around. For the first time she could see how angry Loba is. Yellow eyes were ablaze, and fangs were starting to protrude from beneath the cover of her lips. Her face was flushed dark.

“What’s wrong with me?” Bangalore said, “What’s wrong with you?!”

“Excuse me?!”

“How can you call these people your friends when all they do is make fun of you?”

Loba scoffed, crossing her arms, “They don’t-”

“They do, Loba. They fucking do! All this talk about your ‘wolfy’ stuff, constantly putting you on the spot. All these prying questions? If that’s not your definition of being made fun of then it sure as hell is mine.” Bangalore said. She lifted a finger for every reason and Loba looked like she was ready to bite one of them off. Bangalore stood her ground though, gritting her teeth tightly as Loba took a few steps towards her. She could feel her heat radiate off of her, even with a foot of distance between them.

“Couldn’t you do one thing for me? Just one? All I asked was for you to join me for dinner and instead you assault-”

“Your shitty ex-boyfriend? Excuse me for trying to get him to respect you. I took you for-”

Loba snarled deep in her throat, “Whatever you’re about to say, I’d advise you not to.”

“-Having more self-respect for yourself. What was all that garbage about only being around people who respect you, huh? Because I didn’t see any of that.”

“They-”

“Loba, what part about alluding to you getting ‘knocked up’ sounds like respect?” Bangalore interjected.

Loba pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a few steps back so she could lean on the balcony. A deep, rumbling sigh let her. It sounded like she was barely containing her rage.

“I’m friends with him because everyone else is. I don’t want the friend group to break up.”

“And, knowing how he speaks to you, they are still willingly friends with him?”

“You don’t know them.” Loba growled out. Her grip was tightening on the metal bar.

“I don’t need to ‘know them’. I’m not fucking dumb, Loba. I can tell a good friend from a bad one; you’re just too blind to see it. Jaime’s the only decent person there and even they were trying to encourage him to be like them.”

Loba shook her head, “Stop talking.”

“And what about-?”

“Stop.” A deep growl laced the word.

Bangalore fell silent, but inside she still felt herself fuming. At how Loba was treated. At how she was being made out as the bad guy when Mustache was the one prying into Loba’s sex life. She crossed her arms and turned back to the balcony, looking out into the sky of Olympus. The full moon was out, a massive orange circle unable to be blocked by the skyscrapers. Bangalore wished it was ivory, though, because that would mean she was on Solace and away from this miserable planet.

Another growl rumbled from Loba behind her, somewhat pained this time.

“Didn’t you take the Wolvesbayne?” Bangalore sneered, glancing behind her.

Loba growled again, still leaning against the railing and covering her face, “It’s not as effective when someone gets my blood pressure up.”

“Great, because that would be the last thing we need.”

“Shut up,” A snarl ripped its way through Loba’s throat, “and let me calm down.”

Bangalore gritted her teeth, bouncing on the balls of her feet. There was still so much more she wanted to say; so much that needed to be said. She glanced at Loba again.

“Why should I?”

Loba looked up, yellow eyes glowing, “Excuse me?”

“Why should I?” Bangalore repeated, turning around, “Why should I care about your appearance when you haven't given a shit about mine this whole trip?”

The confusion on her face made Bangalore want to laugh, if it weren’t for the fact that her throat had a lump in it. She crossed her arms and stood tall, looking down at Loba. A hand went up to the mark on her shoulder, squeezing it, fighting back the wince of pain when it throbbed in response. 

“That’s why you brought me here, wasn’t it? To show me off like I’m another one of your toys?”

Loba scoffed, “You know-”

“Don’t tell me what I know!” Bangalore snapped, “If I knew then we wouldn’t be talking about this!”

For once, Loba went quiet.

“That’s all I am to you, aren’t I? Just some toy to show off, another one of Loba Andrade’s treasures. That’s what this thing is for, right? To claim me as property?” Bangalore pulled down her shirt collar, showing off the mark, “I never wanted this.”

Loba flinched, face draining of color. In a flash she stood straight, walking towards her, but Bangalore established distance. She didn’t want Loba near her.

“That’s not-” Loba tried.

Bangalore backed away from an attempt to grab her. 

“You never asked me if I did.”

Shaking hands dropped down to Loba’s side, “I- I did-- you-”

“This ‘thing’, ignoring me, letting your friends embarrass me, calling us roommates-”

“You said that first.”

“Yeah?” Bangalore hissed, “And if it wasn’t true then how come you never say ‘I love you’?”

Loba went quiet again, refusing to meet Bangalore’s eyes. Several shaky breaths left her lips, shoulders trembling with each intake.

Bangalore hated the silence.

“Tell me why you never say it.”

“I-I do-”

“Then say it,”

“Why don’t you want the mark, Annie?”

“Say. It.”

Instead, Loba leaned back on the railing, silent and staring out into the city. Bangalore scoffed, digging the toe of her shoe into the concrete of the balcony, sniffing and trying to pretend she didn’t have tears in her eyes.

“You just use me to contain yourself. It’s just like that ‘quest’ you sent us all on; you use people for your own gain and don’t care whether they get hurt in the process. It's all just collateral to you, isn’t it?”

There was so much more she could say , but Bangalore was never one to rub salt in the wound and her own composure started to waver more and more by the second. The last thing she needed was to give Loba any more ammunition by breaking down in front of her. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she moved past Loba and rested her hand on the doorknob.

“I love you.”

Bangalore paused, biting the inside of her cheek. No, don’t fall for it again. She opened the door.

“Wait, Annie, please. I do. I love you.”

She shut the door and leaned her forehead against it.

“Then why-?”

“I have a hard time admitting those things. It makes me feel… vulnerable. It’s easy to manipulate someone who's in love— but I didn’t, I haven’t been-” Loba stopped, long enough that Bangalore felt inclined to turn around. When she did, she saw tear-filled yellow eyes staring, pleading for her to stay and listen.

Bangalore sighed, leaning on the door, “Just spit it out.”

“I haven’t been manipulating you, I’ve just been… omitting… information.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“That mark— I asked you to be mine, Annie. You said yes, that’s why I marked you. I should have been clearer, but it was the heat of the moment. You can’t put me 100 percent at fault for that.” Loba said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, “and yes, it is a claim. It shows that you are mine, but you aren’t property, you’re-” 

For a while she struggled with the next words, face twitching and mouth opening and closing. Her hands wrung together and Bangalore realized that she had never seen Loba this nervous before, nor had she ever seen her this open. That realization was enough to keep her quiet, even with all the snarky comments she wanted to make. Bangalore crossed her arms and waited, trying to keep patient.

“Lycans mate for life, Annie.” Loba finally got out.

Bangalore furrowed her brow.

“We- when we claim someone, it is a show of commitment and devotion. That they belong to us, and we belong to them. I- you’re my mate, Annie. I’ve known it since I first met you, of course I didn’t want to admit that to myself at the time, but still… you are mine as much as I am yours, even if you can’t mark me to show that.” Loba finished. Hopeful yellow eyes burned into Bangalore, almost staring through her with their intensity. Bangalore wanted to look away; she wanted to do something other than stand there dumbfounded. She was just as unused to opening up as Loba was apparently, and that fact in itself made her think ‘how did we even end up at this point?’ 

Loba gritted her teeth, growling as she looked away, face flushed dark.

“Tell me you didn’t mean it, about not wanting the mark.”

“You’ve-” Bangalore stopped, considering her words. She pressed a hand to her mark, “All this time you’ve been showing it off, you were… showing off a wedding ring?”

Somehow, Loba’s face turned a shade darker.

“Yes. I mean I suppose you could put it that way.”

Silence.

Loba fidgeted with one of her rings, “Please say something, Annie.”

“Why did you laugh when your friend asked if I was going to go wolfy?” Bangalore muttered, gripping onto her bite. Loba grunted and pinched her temple, shaking her head.

“He’s obsessed with the idea of having lycanthropy. At one point it’s better to laugh at it than to explain the obvious again. You’ll be fine, Annie. The wolvesbayne I take negates potential infection-- your immune system can easily fight off any remnants of lycanthropy.”

Bangalore nodded, pretending to understand what had been said. No wolfy stuff. Got it. Bangalore rubbed her temple and pressed her head to the door, looking up at the night sky.

“And what about letting your friends be assholes to you? Gonna explain that one too?”

A sigh, “I don’t mind jokes at my expense, Annie, and I don’t need you to be my protector against all things mean and unkind. I’m not human, I am something strange and ‘otherworldly’ to them. If I can’t joke about it, and they can’t joke about, then there’s nothing in common. It isolates me more than you think. Sometimes, it’s better to take a few jokes to fit in than to demand respect and be separated from your peers.”

“Sounds like bullshit,” Bangalore said.

“To a human, yes. Come back to me when you are some mythical monster who hasn’t met anyone like them aside from their late mother. I take the connections I can get.”

Loba spat. She looked tired, though whether it was from the conversation or Bangalore, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out. Wiping her mouth, Bangalore shrugged her shoulders and turned the words over again and again.

“Agree to disagree.”

“Fine. Anything else you need to interrogate me on? Want to know about my tax write-offs? Perhaps how many people I’ve had sex with?”

Bangalore pushed off the door and closed the distance between them, wanting to to reach out to pull Loba closer. She supposed the cheesy thing to do would be to tug her in for a heartfelt kiss, but instead she took hold of her hands and smiled.

“I’d rather not know that number.”

Loba raised an eyebrow, “Afraid it’s too many?”

“Knowing you? I’d be surprised if it was over three. I just don’t like the idea of other people being with my woman.” 

A fanged grin spread across Loba’s face.

“Your woman? Am I an object?”

“According to this?” Banglaore pointed at her mark. “We own each other. So yes, you’re  _ my _ woman, and I love you too.”

A soft rumble spilled from Loba’s lips; unintentional, judging by the way she silenced it almost as soon as it was out. Bangalore cracked a grin. She garnered from past experiences that that noise meant she was happy.

“What, no kiss?” Loba purred out, bumping her nose onto hers.

Bangalore leaned in, “You mean like two teenagers in a rom-com? We never even officially dated.”

“And now we are unofficially married. I think you’ll just have to deal with it, sergeant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, the finale of their relationship! Thank you all for reading and being so patient!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!, make sure to check out LuckyLabrys story though!
> 
> *Psst, here's the link again in case you missed it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25801777?view_full_work=true*


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